Special Investigation Headquarters "2 Suspects in Gaksital Case, Intelligence Officer to Be Summoned for Questioning in Yongsan"

Yongsan District Office and Seoul Comprehensive Disaster Prevention Center Staff Also Questioned as Witnesses
Hamilton Hotel Raided... CEO's Mobile Phone and Building Blueprints Seized

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byeong-seon] The Police Agency's Special Investigation Headquarters (Special Investigation HQ), which is investigating the Itaewon disaster, has decided to summon two individuals related to the 'Gaksital suspicion' and intelligence officers from the Yongsan Police Station's intelligence division for questioning.

On the 10th, the Special Investigation HQ announced that it plans to summon two individuals related to the Gaksital suspicion, intelligence officers from Yongsan Police Station, and employees from Yongsan District Office and the Seoul Comprehensive Disaster Prevention Center as witnesses for questioning on the same day.

The two individuals wearing Gaksital are suspected of deliberately spilling liquid at the scene on the day of the Itaewon disaster on the 29th of last month, which allegedly increased the casualties. The police plan to ascertain the facts of the suspicion through the summons investigation. The previous day, Kim Dong-wook, spokesperson for the Special Investigation HQ, stated, "We have identified the identity of the man in question."

Additionally, the Special Investigation HQ plans to investigate allegations that the intelligence officer from Yongsan Police Station, who wrote a Halloween festival risk analysis report three days before the disaster, had the report deleted by the head of the intelligence division at Yongsan Police Station and that employees were persuaded to do so. The Special Investigation HQ secured evidence the previous day that Park Seong-min, head of the Public Safety Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Division at Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, was involved in the deletion of the intelligence report and has begun fact-finding.

However, the Special Investigation HQ stated, "U.S. military personnel who were at the scene at the time of the accident were not questioned as witnesses," and "There are currently no plans to merge the case regarding the illegal building report filed by Yongsan District Office."

Meanwhile, the Special Investigation HQ conducted a search and seizure at the Hamilton Hotel the previous day, securing five mobile phones belonging to CEO A and others, as well as building design blueprints. The Special Investigation HQ has booked CEO A on charges of violating the Building Act and Road Act and initiated a forced investigation the previous day. CEO A is suspected of constructing illegal structures on the north side of the second floor of the Hamilton Hotel main building and around the hotel. It has been pointed out that these illegal structures narrowed the alleyways further, increasing the casualties.

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