"Police Rare Early in Disaster, Later Walked In" Kim C's Itaewon Scene Eyewitness Account

'Joo Jin-woo Live' Phone Interview... "Only Paramedics and Firefighters Were Urgent"

Kim C explained the situation at the time of the Itaewon disaster that occurred on the 29th of last month during a phone interview on KBS1 Radio's 'Joo Jin-woo Live' broadcast on the 1st. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Bora Lee] Singer Kim C (real name Kim Daewon), known as a resident of Itaewon, vividly recounted the situation at the scene on the day of the disaster.

Kim C participated in a phone interview on KBS Radio’s ‘Joo Jin-woo Live’ broadcast on the 1st. When asked by Joo Jin-woo, "Are you okay?" Kim C replied, "I don't think I can be okay. Because I was nearby and couldn’t play any role, I felt powerless," sharing his current state.

Regarding the early morning of the 29th of last month, the day of the accident, Kim C explained, "I had a schedule starting at 2 a.m. that day, so I walked carrying equipment from my house for about 30 minutes toward the Hamilton Hotel direction. The accident site was in the left alley, but I had a schedule in a building next to the right alley, so I arrived there around 11:30 p.m."

He continued, "From the time I walked up from my house, many fire trucks and ambulances passed by on the side. Since it was a big event, I thought small and large incidents could happen inside. Seeing so many fire trucks already on the four-lane road back and forth in Itaewon, I thought this wasn’t something minor. I heard there was a fatal accident, so I went up to the rooftop and saw CPR being performed in front of the Hamilton Hotel. Next to it, I saw bodies covered with blankets spread out on the street," he recounted.

He also said, "When police officers wear uniforms, they are fluorescent and easy to see, right? But it wasn’t easy to see police officers. From what I saw, there were only a few, really just a few. Most were emergency responders and firefighters; police officers were not noticeable. So much so that I thought, ‘Why aren’t there any police?’”

Kim C added, "After midnight, about 20 police officers walked in two lines from the Noksapyeong direction to the opposite side of the Hamilton Hotel street. Seeing that, I thought, ‘They don’t fully recognize the situation right now.’ If they had been accurately informed, the police would have rushed here,” he said.

He further stated, "I would say there was no road control at all. I talked with friends around, and back in 2017 or 2016, there were yellow police lines on the sidewalks. Because of that, the event was controlled and less fun, they said. So I said, ‘That’s why no one got hurt.’ But this time, I didn’t see anything like that," he added.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, as of 6 a.m. on the 2nd, the death toll was 156, and the number of injured was 157. Among the injured, 33 were seriously injured, 124 had minor injuries, and 36 were still hospitalized.

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