A South Korean high court issued a ruling today, Tuesday, against a parliamentary vote to impeach Interior Minister Lee Sang-min. The impeachment stemmed from allegations of "misconduct" related to the tragic crowd crush during last year's Halloween celebration in Seoul, which resulted in fatalities, sparking outrage and dissatisfaction among the victims' families.
Judge Lee Jung-suk stated, "The cause of this catastrophic event or its exacerbation was not merely an individual," arguing that "several government bodies were unable to act in a coordinated manner during the major disaster."
The Constitutional Court on Tuesday rejected the National Assembly’s impeachment of Interior Minister Lee Sang-min over last year’s fatal crowd crush in Itaewon, central Seoul, which claimed 159 lives. The court concluded that "the minister made inappropriate statements regarding the escalation of the incident," but noted in its statement that "these statements do not constitute grounds for impeachment." The court ruled that he did not neglect his duties.
Legislators had voted in February to impeach Lee Sang-min, urging him to take responsibility for the mishandling of the severe crowd surge, which resulted in the deaths of 159 individuals, mostly young people celebrating Halloween in one of Seoul's nightlife districts.
