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

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.

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.

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.

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 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

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