Itaewon Disaster Victims' Families Apply for Preservation of On-Site CCTV and Police Radio Evidence

On the 17th, memorial messages and flowers were placed at the Itaewon disaster site in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun) has filed a petition with the court to preserve evidence such as closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from the Itaewon disaster site and police and fire department radio communications on behalf of the bereaved families of the victims.

Minbyun's "10·29 Disaster Fact-Finding and Legal Support Task Force (TF)" announced on the 18th that it submitted a petition to preserve evidence to the Seoul Central District Court, Seoul Western District Court, and Daejeon District Court on behalf of 30 bereaved family members of 17 victims.

The petition targets evidence held by nine institutions, including the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the National Police Agency, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Yongsan Police Station, Itaewon Police Substation, Yongsan Fire Station, Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters, Seoul Comprehensive Disaster Prevention Center Situation Room, and the Central Emergency Medical Center.

Evidence preservation is a system that secures results by conducting evidence investigation in advance when it would be difficult to use the evidence later without prior investigation.

Minbyun explained, "The evidence designated for preservation is highly likely to be deleted, destroyed, or altered, so it must be urgently secured," adding, "There are concerns about evidence destruction due to false explanations by each institution, deletion of internal reports, and the short retention period of video recordings, which may make it difficult to secure evidence later."

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