Yoon Criticizes Police: "Almost 'Abigyuhwan' at First Report... How Can They Say 'No Authority'?"

President Yoon Criticizes Itaewon Tragedy at National Security System Inspection Meeting
"Itaewon tragedy occurred on sidewalk next to main road... Main road should have been blocked"
"Unbelievable that police and Yongsan Station were unaware of crowd information"
"Police were on site, so why did they just watch silently for 4 hours after first report"
"Can't blame system flaws for failure to respond; Itaewon tragedy didn't happen due to system flaws... Unacceptable"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] President Yoon Suk-yeol strongly criticized the police on the 7th regarding the Itaewon Halloween crowd crush disaster, saying, "If the first 112 emergency call came in at 6:34 PM, wouldn't it have been almost a chaotic situation? How could the police say they had no authority in that situation?"

President Yoon made these remarks during a closed-door National Safety System Inspection Meeting held at the Yongsan Presidential Office that morning, according to a briefing by Lee Jae-myung, deputy spokesperson of the presidential office.

President Yoon stated, "What is the most basic principle of crowd management to prevent crowd accidents? It is to reduce crowd density," adding, "This accident did not happen in some remote corner but on the sidewalk right next to the main road. At this level, the main road should have obviously been blocked."

He also said that the police failed to fulfill their responsibility to detect danger in advance and prevent the accident. President Yoon pointed out, "It is the police's duty to detect danger," and criticized, "It is beyond common sense that the Yongsan police station on the front line did not know the security information usually collected by the police, such as 'something might happen this time,' 'although the assembly permit was for 5,000 people, more people are expected,' or 'a large crowd is likely to gather here,' even if no assembly notification was filed."

He continued, "Our police are not incompetent. Their intelligence capabilities are excellent... So why were they just staring blankly for four hours?" and scolded, "They were on site. Even if no 112 calls came in, shouldn't they have taken action?"

Contrary to the existing stance of Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min and the presidential office, who cited institutional shortcomings as reasons for the police's inadequate preemptive response, President Yoon criticized that blaming the system's deficiencies is unacceptable. He said, "How can anyone say that the response failed because the system was inadequate? Did the Itaewon disaster happen because of system deficiencies? I cannot accept that," and added, "If a crowd crush accident is about to happen, and from 6:30 PM people are literally gasping for air and dying... you see it with your own eyes on site. Would you not take action?"

Furthermore, he stated, "The control tower for disaster and safety is indeed the president. The president is the control tower for all national risks and affairs," and criticized the insufficient reporting and response, emphasizing, "It is important that reporting systems and such are promptly established to ensure effective implementation."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the presidential office's unusual disclosure of President Yoon's closed-door remarks, a key presidential office official explained, "President Yoon instructed that the meeting contents be conveyed to the public without omission," adding, "There is a strong will to disclose this matter to the public as thoroughly and transparently as possible, leaving no room for suspicion."

He continued, "The cause of the Itaewon disaster and the police response process are questions, regrets, and frustrations shared not only by the president but by all our citizens," and added, "In that regard, there is no room for suspicion. The police are conducting high-intensity inspections and special investigations, and the president's strong will is reflected in thoroughly verifying the facts, explaining them accurately, and holding those responsible accountable."

Regarding why President Yoon issued such strong criticism, unlike Minister Lee and the presidential office who previously mentioned 'whether there was an organizer' and cited institutional shortcomings, the official responded, "There are certainly areas where system improvements are needed. We must thoroughly analyze the causes to ensure that such an incident never happens again, supplement any deficiencies in the system, continuously train, and revise manuals to prevent recurrence of similar events."

However, he added, "Regardless of system deficiencies, as the president pointed out, there were many prior concerns and reports from citizens, as evidenced by the 112 call recordings, and police were on site," and explained again, "It is very important to accurately verify whether appropriate measures were taken in the chaotic situation and clearly disclose what actions were taken. This is also a crucial part of the cause analysis for system improvement, and I believe this is why such issues were raised while requesting a thorough fact-finding investigation."

When asked by reporters if President Yoon's criticism was directed at Police Commissioner Yoon Hee-geun, the official said, "No one is being specifically targeted," and added, "The main purpose is to identify what went wrong overall," and "Assigning responsibility will be determined after judging who did what wrong and to what extent, and how responsibility should be assigned according to authority."

Meanwhile, during this meeting, the head of the Disaster and Safety Management Headquarters at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety analyzed the current status of the disaster safety management system and reported on the shortcomings so far 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 response systems (112 and 119) ▲ response measures to new risk factors in a networked society.

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

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