South Korea's top court on Tuesday ruled against a parliamentary vote to impeach the interior minister over what critics said was a botched response to a deadly Halloween crush in Seoul last year, provoking anger and dismay among victims' relatives.
Lawmakers in February voted to impeach minister Lee Sang-min, urging him to take responsibility for the failure of the response to a crowd surge that killed 159 people, most of them young people celebrating Halloween, in Seoul's Itaewon nightlife district. While the court found the minister had made inappropriate remarks about how the disaster unfolded, it said in a statement the comments did not amount to grounds for impeachment and ruled he had not neglected his duties. The decision was unanimous, the court said.
Dozens of relatives and their supporters gathered in front of the court chanting"condemn the constitutional court that gave immunity to Lee Sang-min"."Our children, young people, are living in a place that isn't safe to even walk in," said Ms Choi, whose hands were shaking as she choked back tears.The president's office and the ruling party denounced their rival Democrats and accused the party of abusing its majority in parliament to push the impeachment.
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