Special Investigation Unit conducts witness questioning at Yongsan Police Station and district offices... Final preparations for suspect summons

Focus on Accountability of Related Agencies
Announcement of Expanded Scope and Analysis of Seized Items

The signboard of the Itaewon Accident Special Investigation Headquarters (Special Investigation Unit), which is investigating the inadequate response to the 'Itaewon Disaster,' is hung at the entrance of the Mapo Police Station in Mapo-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The Police Agency's Special Investigation Headquarters (Special Investigation HQ), which is investigating the Itaewon disaster, continued summoning employees from related organizations for witness interviews even over the weekend. This is a procedure to confirm the facts in order to determine responsibility for the accident, and the Special Investigation HQ plans to conduct summons investigations of suspects who have been booked starting this week.

At a briefing held on the 14th at the Mapo Office of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, the Special Investigation HQ stated, "We conducted witness interviews with an employee from the Yongsan District Office's Culture and Sports Department and the control team leader of Seoul Metro the day before." This is a procedure to clarify the responsibility of Yongsan District Office, which is the disaster management authority under the Disaster and Safety Act, for neglecting safety measures. It is also an investigation to examine why Seoul Metro and Itaewon Station did not pass through without stopping despite passengers being so densely packed at the subway exit from the afternoon of the disaster day that they could not exit. The Special Investigation HQ plans to continue witness interviews with employees from Yongsan Police Station, Yongsan District Office, and Yongsan Fire Station on the same day.

On the 12th, the Special Investigation HQ also summoned employees from Yongsan Police Station, Yongsan District Office, and Yongsan Fire Station to understand the measures taken and situation management process on the day of the disaster. This is interpreted as evidence showing that the investigation is focused on determining the responsibility of related organizations that failed to properly prepare for the risk of crowd accidents. The Special Investigation HQ has booked former Yongsan Police Station Chief Lee Im-jae, Yongsan District Mayor Park Hee-young, and Yongsan Police Station Chief Choi Seong-beom on charges of professional negligence resulting in death and injury.

The Special Investigation HQ is also analyzing about 20,000 related materials secured through searches conducted twice on the 2nd and 8th targeting Yongsan District Office and others. A Special Investigation HQ official said, "This case involves multiple organizations as investigation targets," adding, "To determine responsibility, confirming the facts regarding whether each organization had prior plans, on-site response, situation measures, and reporting is a priority." He further stated, "Based on the facts confirmed through basic investigations, we plan to expand the scope of the investigation as soon as possible."

The Special Investigation HQ plans to begin full suspect investigations starting next week once the fact-checking work based on the analysis of seized materials and testimonies of on-site workers is completed. In this process, besides the heads of various Yongsan area organizations, Police Superintendent Ryu Mi-jin, who is suspected of delaying reports as the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency situation manager on the day of the disaster, and the head of the Yongsan Police Station Intelligence Division, who was booked on charges including improper deletion of information reports concerning Halloween safety accidents, are also expected to appear as suspects. The CEO Lee of Hamilton Hotel, who is suspected of leaving illegal building extensions at the accident site, is also a subject of investigation. A Special Investigation HQ official said, "We plan to summon the head of the Yongsan Police Station Intelligence Division first, and we are trying to summon all police-related suspects including former Chief Lee and Superintendent Ryu within next week."

There are criticisms that the Special Investigation HQ’s investigation is not advancing toward higher-level officials but only investigating lower-ranking personnel. This criticism arises because Police Commissioner Yoon Hee-geun and Seoul Metropolitan Police Chief Kim Kwang-ho remain only at the witness interview stage, and there has been no progress beyond the legal review stage regarding the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Regarding this, a Special Investigation HQ official said, "We humbly listen to the critical opinions," adding, "We are doing our best to meet the public’s demand for truth verification, so we ask you to trust the investigation and watch the results."

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