Yoon on Itaewon Tragedy: "Apologies to the People... Punishment for Those Responsible and Police Reform" (Update)

On the 7th, presiding over the 'National Safety System Inspection Meeting'... "We must devote all efforts to prevent such tragedies from happening"

President Yoon Suk-yeol is speaking at the National Security System Inspection Meeting held on the morning of the 7th at the Yongsan Presidential Office Building in Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] President Yoon Suk-yeol stated on the 7th, "I apologize and am sorry to the bereaved families facing tragedy and to the people who share the pain and sorrow." This was the first apology message delivered at an official meeting since the Itaewon disaster occurred. In particular, President Yoon also mentioned strict punishment for those responsible and a major reform plan for the police.

On the same day, President Yoon presided over a joint public-private national safety system inspection meeting at the Yongsan Presidential Office to discuss crowd management and rescue systems, saying, "The government must responsibly handle this disaster and devote all its capabilities to making South Korea safe so that such a tragedy never happens again."

He emphasized, "We will ensure a thorough investigation into the truth of this disaster and transparently disclose the process to the public without any suspicion," adding, "Those responsible will be strictly held accountable according to the results." He continued, "To effectively respond to various risks in our society, a comprehensive institutional review of the authority, responsibility, and rapid reporting system for safety management must be conducted," and stated, "A major reform of police work is necessary to prepare for risks and prevent accidents to protect the safety of the people."

He also expressed his determination to completely review related systems to prevent disasters and safety accidents like the Itaewon tragedy from recurring. President Yoon said, "We must devote all our capabilities to making South Korea safe so that such tragedies never happen again," and added, "The government will thoroughly review systems related to various disaster and safety accidents and boldly improve the accumulated structural problems."

During the meeting, the head of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s Disaster and Safety Management Headquarters analyzed the current disaster and safety management system, reporting on past shortcomings and necessary measures for improvement. Reports and discussions were held on ▲the current status and management plans for crowd control ▲diagnosis and improvement of emergency rescue systems (112 and 119) ▲and response measures to new risk factors in the network society.

A presentation by the Minister for Government Policy Coordination on the major transformation of the national safety system and a comprehensive discussion among participants also took place. Various opinions were presented, including ▲strengthening practical and on-site response capabilities rather than passive responses centered on manuals and regulations ▲promoting and ensuring the implementation of safety-first policies rather than safety regulations disconnected from the field ▲strengthening accountability to prevent delayed reporting and absence from duty, along with significantly enhancing on-site command authority ▲scientific safety management based on systems and IT technology rather than experience and individual ability ▲and strengthening system linkage and organic communication without barriers between ministries and agencies.

President Yoon said, "The foundation of disaster response is proactive preparation and minimizing damage. To respond proactively, it is most important to properly identify risk factors," and added, "Disaster response should approach not only specific facilities or targets, as in current safety inspections, but also situations that cause risks."

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