Charges pressed over Imjin flood deaths

The police requested arrest warrants for two people for the Imjin River flooding disaster that killed six campers early this month.

North Korea released a massive amount of water from a dam without prior notice on Sept. 6. The South Korean flood alert system failed to work, while the river overflowed, swallowing people and cars.

An employee of the Korea Water Resources Corp., surnamed Song, and an employee of the Yeoncheon county office, surnamed Koh, face charges of dereliction of duty and professional negligence that resulted in deaths.

Song failed to check on the malfunctioning flood alert system, despite having received automated warning messages on his mobile phone.

Koh at the county office was on duty, but failed to notice the sudden rise of the water levels or send out warnings.

The Yeoncheon police booked four others including Song and Koh`s superiors at work on same charges without filing for arrest warrants.

The police also notified the Yeoncheon county office and Kwater that they were to blame for a lack of supervision and insufficient training.

(sophie@heraldm.com)



By Kim So-hyun