South Korean court overturns impeachment of government minister ousted over deadly crowd crush

By KIM TONG-HYUNG
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s Constitutional Court has overturned the impeachment of the public safety minister ousted over a Halloween crowd surge that killed nearly 160 people last October at a nightlife district in the capital, Seoul. The court’s decision Tuesday allows Lee Sang-min to return as the minister of the interior and safety. Vice Minister Han Chang-seob has served as acting minister since February when South Korea’s opposition-controlled parliament voted to impeach Lee, saying he should be held responsible for the government’s failure to employ effective crowd control measures and its botched emergency response, which contributed to the high death toll in Itaewon.