Relocation of S. Korean presidential office blamed for crowd crush which killed 159

A government audit on Thursday blamed the relocation of South Korea's presidential office under former President Yoon Suk Yeol's administration for the crowd crush that killed nearly 160 people in 2022.

The audit report revealed that the relocation led to a lack of police presence that might have prevented the nation's deadliest crowd disaster, Yonhap News reported, citing the report.

In October 2022, 159 people, mostly young adults, died in the tragedy in Seoul's entertainment district of Itaewon during Halloween celebrations.

It was the country's worst disaster since the 2014 Sewol ferry sinking, which killed 304 people, mostly high school students.

President Lee Jae Myung ordered the audit in July following a meeting with the victims' families.

The report concluded that police preparations for the event were "clearly insufficient" and that moving the presidential office to Yongsan, the same district as Itaewon, diverted police resources.

"After the relocation of the presidential office to Yongsan, (the) leadership of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and Yongsan Police Station prioritized stationing personnel for security near the presidential office," the Office for Government Policy Coordination said in its report.

The findings have renewed criticism of the former administration's decision to relocate the presidential office from the Blue House to the defense ministry compound as part of Yoon's campaign pledge.