Prosecutors have sought a five-year prison sentence for former Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency(SMPA) Commissioner Kim Kwang-ho who has been charged with professional negligence in connection with the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush. 

Prosecutors made the request to the Seoul Western District Court on Monday.

The prosecution believes Kim is responsible for increasing the number of casualties on the day of the disaster on October 29, 2022 by not deploying an appropriate number of police officers and failing to take necessary measures.

Also on Monday, prosecutors sought a three-year prison sentence for Ryu Mi-jin, the former senior superintendent-level officer in charge of the SMPA's emergency call monitoring at the time of the incident and a two-and-a-half year sentence for Jeong Dae-kyung, the former head of the police agency’s 112 situation team. 

Both Ryu and Jeong face the same charges as Kim.