Prosecutors in South Korea prosecuted its Metropolitan Police Chief Seoulaccusing him of negligently contributing to the 2022 stampede during Halloween celebrations in the nation’s capital that killed nearly 160 people, according to the Seoul Western District Prosecutor’s Office.

The charges against Seoul’s police chief Kim Kwang-ho were charged after more than a year after the trampling in October 2022, where 159 people were killed his weekend Halloween, in the Itaewon district of Seoul. Kim is the most senior police officer to be charged in connection with the stomping.

The annual festivities in the popular nightlife district of Itaewon ended in tragedy on October 29, after tens of thousands of young revelers crowded narrow streets to celebrate the first Halloween without the restrictions on Covid-19 For three years.

Authorities, including the police, failed to develop a safety plan even though the large crowd that gathered made an accident likely, and did not take appropriate measures after calls for help began to arrive, according to the investigative team.