A police officer investigated for the South Korean Halloween tragedy was found dead on Friday in his apartment in Seoul, according to Yonhap news agency. The cause of death was not revealed.
Identified only by his surname Jeong, the agent was in charge of the intelligence of the Yongsan Police District, the department responsible for security in Itaewon. Traditional for its bohemian atmosphere, the neighborhood was the scene of the episode that left 156 dead, most of them between 20 and 30 years old, in addition to 198 injured.
On October 29, when 100,000 people came to the area, hundreds were pressed into an alley outside a subway station — some were trampled to death, and others were asphyxiated by the crowd.
Jeong, 55, came under investigation after being accused of erasing intelligence reports that warned of the risk of a serious accident. In a session on Monday (7), South Korean lawmakers criticized the alleged deletion of the files and called for the punishment of those responsible.
The response to the lawmakers’ request came from the commissioner general of the National Police, Yoon Hee-keun, who assigned responsibility to Jeong’s post and ordered that he be investigated.
The police have been heavily criticized by the population, who question the response to the tragedy, especially after the release of emergency calls. Released last Tuesday (11), the transcripts show that the corporation was alerted to the situation hours before the disaster took place.
On the day of the tragedy, witnesses reported clear signs of trouble in the alleys before the incident. Moon Ju-young, 21, told Reuters news agency that the area “was at least ten times more crowded than usual” and that agents struggled to maintain control of the crowd.
João Brasil, 23, a student from Belo Horizonte who is doing an exchange program in Seoul, told Sheet that the Itaewon neighborhood, traditionally crowded on weekends, was so crowded at the time that it was difficult to walk. He says he entered a narrow street with friends when a crowd came in the opposite direction.
The streets of the capital were taken over the following Saturday (5), when thousands of South Koreans marched together in a vigil, to offer solidarity to the families and honor the victims.
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