South Korean media say a former head of the police station overseeing Seoul's Itaewon district has been arrested in connection with a deadly Halloween crowd crush.

The incident on October 29 claimed 158 lives. The former chief is accused of professional negligence resulting in death and injury, as well as falsification of public documents.

The station chief at the time is suspected of failing to take appropriate measures before and after the accident.

He is also alleged to have been involved in creating a false report claiming that he arrived at the site about 50 minutes earlier than he actually did.