The verdict drew angry responses from grieving relatives and their advocates, who accused the court of refusing to hold high-level officials accountable.

Kim Kwang-ho, the former head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, was the most senior official to face criminal charges over the 2022 disaster that killed 159 people.

The Seoul Western District Court ruled on Thursday that Kim Kwang-ho, the former chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police, is not guilty in connection with 2022's deadly Itaewon crowd crush.

The former head of Seoul's Metropolitan Police, Kim Kwang-ho, is the most senior officer to face court over the disaster that killed 159 people, including two Australians.

Kim Kwang-ho has been found not guilty of negligence that led to the deaths of 159 revellers in the 2022 tragedy.

A South Korean court ruled on Thursday that Seoul's former police chief was not guilty of negligence in the response to a Halloween crowd crush in the capital's Itaewon nightlife district that killed 159 revellers in 2022.

A South Korean court has acquitted Seoul's former police chief, Kim Kwang-ho, of negligence in connection with the deadly Halloween crowd crush that claimed 159 lives in the bustling Itaewon district in October 2022.

Anchor] The first trial court acquitted Kim Kwang-ho, former head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, who is accused of poor response during the Itaewon

A South Korean court found the former police chief of the country’s capital, Seoul, not guilty over a botched response to a Halloween crowd crush that killed nearly 160 people in 2022