'Report Deletion' Yongsan Police Information Chief Summoned Today... First Suspect Interrogation

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 Jo] The National Police Agency’s Special Investigation Headquarters (Special Investigation HQ) will summon the head of the Intelligence Division at Yongsan Police Station, a key figure suspected of deleting an information report warning of safety accidents during the Halloween period, as a suspect for questioning on the 15th. This is the first suspect interrogation conducted by the Special Investigation HQ related to this disaster.

According to a compilation of our coverage, the Special Investigation HQ will summon Police Inspector Kim, head of the Intelligence Division at Yongsan Police Station, at 2 p.m. on the same day for questioning. Kim has been booked on charges of abuse of authority, evidence tampering, and professional negligence causing injury or death. He is suspected of ordering the deletion of a Halloween festival risk analysis report prepared by the Yongsan Police Station intelligence officer from the office PC three days before the Itaewon disaster, and of coercing and persuading staff during this process. The Special Investigation HQ plans to verify the facts with Inspector Kim based on witness statements from Yongsan Police Station intelligence staff.

With Inspector Kim’s summons, an investigation into whether senior officials, including Seongmin Park, head of the Public Safety Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Division at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, were involved is also expected to be unavoidable. Park is suspected of instructing, in a messenger chatroom joined by intelligence heads of frontline police stations including Yongsan, to delete intelligence reports according to regulations in preparation for inspections and raids. The Special Investigation HQ stated the previous day, “After completing the investigation of Inspector Kim, we plan to summon Director Park as a witness for questioning soon.”

The Special Investigation HQ announced the previous day that full-scale suspect summonses would begin this week. Besides the first summoned individual, A, former Yongsan Police Station Chief (Senior Superintendent) Im Jae, and former Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Personnel and Training Division Chief (Senior Superintendent) Ryu Mijin are also expected to be summoned soon as suspects related to this disaster. A Special Investigation HQ official said, “We are trying to summon all police-related suspects within two weeks.”

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