Special Investigation Unit, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Seoul City, etc. Complete Search and Seizure Operation Ended After 7 Hours

22 Locations Including Disaster Safety Management Headquarters Seoul Situation Center
Securing Halloween-Related Reports and Incident Response Materials

The police special investigation headquarters (Special Investigation Headquarters) investigating the Itaewon disaster reportedly began a forced investigation against the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Seoul City Hall, and the Seoul Metropolitan Autonomous Police Committee. On the afternoon of the 17th, investigators from the Special Investigation Headquarters conducted a search and seizure at the Central Disaster and Safety Situation Room in the Government Seoul Office Building and are seen coming out. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The special investigation headquarters (Special Investigation HQ) of the National Police Agency, which is investigating the Itaewon disaster, completed a search and seizure operation conducted on the 17th at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and Seoul City Hall in about seven hours.

The Special Investigation HQ dispatched 65 investigators to 22 locations, including the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's Disaster and Safety Management Headquarters Seoul Situation Center, starting from 2:30 p.m. that day to carry out the search and seizure. It is known that the Special Investigation HQ secured Halloween-related reports and Itaewon accident response materials. Through the materials obtained that day, the Special Investigation HQ plans to determine whether Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min holds not only the position as the police command and supervision authority but also direct legal responsibility for disaster prevention and response. However, the minister’s office was excluded from this search and seizure operation.

Regarding Seoul City, the Special Investigation HQ conducted searches at eight locations, including the Safety General Division, Safety Support Division, Disaster Safety Situation Room, and Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. They plan to examine whether Seoul City, as a local government primarily responsible for disaster prevention under the Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety, established appropriate safety measures in preparation for Halloween through the secured materials. They are also expected to investigate why the approximately 29,000 city CCTV cameras connected to a real-time monitoring system in the Seoul Disaster Safety Situation Room were not linked to the CCTV cameras within Yongsan District.

The Special Investigation HQ also sent investigators to the Secretariat and Computer Room of the Seoul Metropolitan Autonomous Police Committee located in Jung-gu, Seoul, to secure related materials. The Seoul Metropolitan Autonomous Police Committee is suspected of failing to take preventive measures in advance despite receiving reports on Halloween safety measures from the Yongsan Police Station. According to the Police Act, the affairs of the Autonomous Police Committee are broadly divided into community safety, traffic and security, and some investigative affairs. Among these, traffic and security affairs include traffic and safety management for local mass gatherings.

This is the first time the Special Investigation HQ has conducted a forced investigation against the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and Seoul City. Previously, on the 2nd and 8th, the Special Investigation HQ conducted search and seizure operations targeting the National Police Agency, Yongsan District Office, and Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters. At that time, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and Seoul City, which are higher administrative bodies, were excluded from the search and seizure, leading to criticism that the investigation was a "scapegoating" effort. The Special Investigation HQ has repeatedly emphasized that "after confirming the facts, it plans to determine specific legal responsibilities applicable to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety or Seoul City."

Since early this month, the Special Investigation HQ has been summoning civil servants from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and Seoul City as witnesses for investigations. From the 14th to the 16th, Ministry of the Interior and Safety employees were summoned and investigated as witnesses. Regarding Seoul City, the head of the Safety General Division was summoned for investigation on the same day. It is known that during these investigations, the Special Investigation HQ confirmed indications that the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and Seoul City were insufficient in safety accident measures before and after the day of the disaster. With the witness investigations followed by the search and seizure operation on this day, it is expected that the investigation targeting higher-ups will intensify.

Meanwhile, it is reported that during the second search and seizure on the 8th, the Special Investigation HQ failed to secure the personal mobile phone of Chief Superintendent Ryu Mi-jin, who was the Seoul Police Situation Manager on the day of the disaster, due to its loss.

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