Signal for 'Itaewon Investigation' with All-Around Raids... Direct Targeting of Higher-Ups (Comprehensive)

All Locations with Various Allegations
Summoning of Related Persons After Seizure Analysis
Possibility of Detention Investigation Cannot Be Ruled Out

On the afternoon of the 8th, the special investigation headquarters for the Itaewon accident conducted a search and seizure at the Seoul Seodaemun-gu Police Agency [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The Special Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency launched simultaneous raids on 55 locations, including the National Police Agency and Yongsan District Office, on the 8th, which is being analyzed as a signal marking the full-scale investigation into the Itaewon disaster.

On that day, the Special Investigation Headquarters deployed 84 investigators and conducted raids on almost all locations related to various suspicions raised in this disaster. Looking at it by institution, it was a large-scale forced investigation targeting four institutions: the police, fire department, Yongsan District Office, and Seoul Metro. It is known that the Special Investigation Headquarters plans to analyze the seized items obtained through these raids to uncover the truth of the disaster as well as to examine the various suspicions raised so far.

Investigation into Various Suspicions Begins... Focus on the Police

Since its formation on the 1st, the Special Investigation Headquarters has focused its investigative efforts on reconstructing the disaster site. To this end, they analyzed a total of 157 videos, including 57 CCTV videos near the disaster site, 78 SNS videos, and 22 tip-off videos, to observe changes in crowd density by time. They also analyzed geographical risk based on 3D scanner measurements following the first joint forensic examination on the 31st of last month. The second joint forensic examination with the National Forensic Service the day before was also a procedure to further specify this work.

However, investigations into various suspicions raised through the media and others were relatively sluggish. On the 2nd, forced investigations were conducted at eight locations including the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and Yongsan Police Station, but it was revealed that the police chief’s office, the station chief’s office, and the mobile phones of suspects related to the suspicions were excluded from the search targets, sparking controversy over the appropriateness of a 'self-investigation.' The Special Investigation Headquarters explained that the application and execution of the search warrants at that time were made before the suspicions were raised, but this controversy did not easily subside.

However, on this day, the controversy is expected to naturally subside as the Special Investigation Headquarters conducted raids on the offices of Police Commissioner Yoon Hee-geun, Seoul Police Chief Kim Kwang-ho, who are at the center of the leadership suspicions, and former Yongsan Police Station Chief Lee Im-jae, who arrived late at the disaster site and delayed reporting to superiors as the person responsible on site. The simultaneous raids on the intelligence division chief and intelligence section chief of Yongsan Police Station, who allegedly persuaded the deletion of a report predicting a safety accident due to overcrowding after the disaster, add credibility to this view. The fact that the raids were concentrated on 26 locations across three institutions?the National Police Agency, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, and Yongsan Police Station?also aligns with this perspective.

Some note that the raids were carried out just one day after President Yoon Seok-yeol strongly reprimanded the police regarding this disaster. It is reported that President Yoon emphasized the police’s responsibility for the disaster in a tense tone during a national safety system inspection meeting held at the Yongsan Presidential Office the previous day. However, considering that the process from application to issuance of warrants requires time, the consensus is that these raids are unrelated to the president’s reprimanding remarks.

Officials from the Special Investigation Headquarters (Special Investigation Unit) of the National Police Agency, investigating the Itaewon disaster, are moving seized items after completing a search and seizure at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Jongno-gu on the afternoon of the 8th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Special Investigation Headquarters’ Blade Turns Upwards... Possibility of Ministry of the Interior and Safety and Seoul City

Inside and outside the police, it is expected that the investigation into this disaster will intensify from this point onward. This is because all key locations related to various suspicions raised during the process of uncovering the truth of the disaster, not only the police, were included in the raid targets. The Special Investigation Headquarters plans to analyze the mobile phones of major suspects and witnesses, Halloween festival-related documents, related CCTV video files, and computer-stored information obtained on this day, and then summon the related parties for questioning one by one. The possibility of detention during this process cannot be ruled out. A Special Investigation Headquarters official said, "We will conduct an investigation without any suspicion and without any sacred cows."

In particular, the fact that the Special Investigation Headquarters has started forced investigations targeting the Police Commissioner and the Seoul Police Chief indicates that the focus of this investigation is aimed at the highest police leadership. It is expected that the Special Investigation Headquarters will decide whether to indict Commissioner Yoon and Chief Kim once the analysis of the seized items obtained through these raids is completed. Like former Station Chief Lee, Commissioner Yoon and Chief Kim may be charged with professional negligence resulting in death or injury.

There is also speculation that the Special Investigation Headquarters’ investigation will not stop at the police leadership. It is expected that they will also examine whether there was professional negligence responsibility related to the disaster among the higher-ups in the fire and administrative organizations. A Special Investigation Headquarters official said at a briefing the day before, "We are also reviewing the legal responsibilities and roles of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and Seoul City." The Special Investigation Headquarters did not include the Ministry of the Interior and Safety or Seoul City Hall in the targets of the second raid on this day. However, the possibility of future raids on these locations cannot be ruled out, and depending on the case, the suspects named in the warrants could be Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon.

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