'Myeonpi Cabinet' That Fueled Negative Public Opinion... Trying to Shift Focus by Identifying Causes

Minister Lee Sang-min's Misstatement on Itaewon Disaster, Prime Minister Also Busy Defending Minister
"Even with Police and Fire Personnel Deployed, It Was Difficult to Resolve" Statement Reconfirmed
Prime Minister Also Says "Cause Must Be Thoroughly Investigated," Intends to Shift Focus Instead of Taking Responsibility
At Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Briefing, Officials Respond "Never Heard of It," Give Irrelevant Answers and Delay Responses

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is briefing on the 'Itaewon Crowd Crush Disaster' on the 30th at the briefing room of the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, wearing a black ribbon on his chest. From the left, Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong, Prime Minister Han, and Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporters Lim Cheol-young and Han Jin-joo] In relation to the Itaewon tragedy, key cabinet members including Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min are showing behavior that goes beyond evading responsibility to outright "avoiding blame." Both the Prime Minister and ministers are emphasizing "investigating the cause of the incident" and trying to shift the focus, but negative public opinion seems only to be spreading.

Minister Lee Sang-min explained on the morning of the 31st after paying respects at the joint memorial altar set up at Seoul Plaza, saying, "It's not that it was impossible to prevent the accident with a military response, but there is doubt as to whether that was truly the cause," adding, "Until the exact cause of the accident is determined, premature predictions, speculations, or politically provocative claims should not be made."

This reaffirmed that there has been no change from his previous stance expressed during the emergency issue briefing on the 30th, where he stated, "Even if police and firefighting personnel were deployed, it would have been difficult to resolve." After criticism of Minister Lee's remarks grew louder, including from ruling party lawmakers, he belatedly expressed regret only on the afternoon of the previous day. In a text message to the press corps, Minister Lee said, "While identifying the exact cause of the accident is most important to prevent recurrence, I regret having made remarks that may have caused public concern."

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo's remarks also came under scrutiny. Regarding Minister Lee's comments, Prime Minister Han said, "Compared to previous years, a larger number of police personnel were deployed and worked hard in various ways," and added, "The cause of the incident must be thoroughly investigated." This is interpreted as an attempt to divert public attention to "investigating the cause of the incident," despite the clear revelation of inadequate prior administrative response at the time of the accident.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The briefing by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters held on the morning of the 31st also came under fire. The briefing was delivered by Kim Seong-ho, Director of the Disaster and Safety Management Headquarters at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. Many journalists' questions related to Minister Lee Sang-min's remarks that "deploying police and firefighting personnel in advance would not have resolved the issue" were omitted, and the subsequently distributed written responses merely repeated the existing position. When faced with a flood of questions, Director Kim retorted, "Do I have to answer all the questions?" Meanwhile, Police Chief Investigator Oh Seung-jin of the Violent Crime Investigation Division responded to a question about why only 137 police officers were deployed instead of the originally planned 200 by saying, "Since I work in the investigative department, this is the first time I am hearing about the plan to deploy 200."

Regarding Mayor Oh Se-hoon's mention of declaring a special disaster zone immediately after returning to Korea on the 30th, Director Kim said, "Since this is the first time I am hearing about it, I will review the details after hearing them." On the background of not controlling the roads and sidewalks, officials from the National Police Agency and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport delayed their responses. Ultimately, a police official responded, "Police forces have been deployed mainly for crime prevention and illegal crackdowns, and it was the same this time," as a substitute answer.

Meanwhile, Hong Ki-hyun, Director of the Police Security Bureau, said, "We did not foresee that a large number of people gathering would result in massive casualties," and added, "It is said that there was no sudden surge of crowds felt on site. There is regret regarding the judgment."

On the day of the accident, it was initially expected that over 100,000 people would gather in Itaewon. The number of police personnel deployed at the scene was only 137, not the initially reported 200. Minister Lee explained, "The number of citizens gathered in Itaewon for Halloween increased by about 30% from the usual 80,000 to 100,000 to 130,000 this year, and the police increased personnel by 40% from the usual 80 to 100 to about 130 this year." He justified this by equating 130,000 people with about 130 police officers. This is why the explanation provided by the National Police Agency is considered somewhat better.

Mayor Oh Se-hoon was on a business trip to Europe at the time of the accident and returned urgently to oversee the situation but has not made an official statement. After paying respects on the morning of the previous day, Mayor Oh said, "The police are conducting an investigation, so it is appropriate to organize the situation and wait for the investigation results before I make my statement."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.