Itaewon Disaster: Ruling Party Special Committee Visits Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency... Criticizes "Fundamentals Have Collapsed"

Kim Kwang-ho (right), Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, listens to the remarks of Lee Man-hee, Chairman of the Special Committee on the Itaewon Accident Investigation and Safety Measures of the People Power Party, during a visit meeting held at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 22nd. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] The People Power Party's 'Itaewon Accident Investigation and Safety Measures Special Committee' (Special Committee) visited the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on the 22nd to criticize the police's inadequate response to the Itaewon disaster and to examine related suspicions.

The Special Committee chairman, Representative Lee Man-hee, said at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Jongno-gu, Seoul, "The Seoul Police Agency, together with the Yongsan Police Station, fully exposed a breakdown of the basics in the accident response process," adding, "Despite predicting that a large crowd would gather in Itaewon during Halloween, they failed to prepare in advance, and when the accident occurred, they also showed signs of shifting responsibility to the Yongsan Police Station."

That afternoon, the Special Committee held an on-site meeting at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency for about two and a half hours, questioning suspicions raised around the Seoul Police Agency after the disaster, including refusal of riot police support, orders to delete information documents at the Yongsan Police Station, and poor response at the 112 comprehensive situation room.

Representative Lee criticized, "The police have been included in the special investigation headquarters' investigation due to concealment suspicions such as deleting information documents fearing a crowd accident," and added, "Despite numerous reports warning of mass crush accidents before the incident, the response was so complacent that there is no excuse, and the accident could not be prevented."

He continued, "The explanation by related officials that the system called the situation manager is ineffective and that Lee Seok's actions are just a customary practice raises doubts about whether the public can trust the police to protect their lives and bodies."

Before the meeting began, Kim Kwang-ho, Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, bowed his head and said in his opening remarks, "As the person responsible for overall security in Seoul, I feel a heavy responsibility and deeply apologize for the pain this accident has caused the public."

He added, "The Seoul Police and I remain committed to revealing the truth about the cause of the accident without any concealment or addition," and said, "We will also steadily prepare measures to prevent recurrence and do our best to ensure that such an accident never happens again."

The meeting was attended by Special Committee members including Chairman Lee, Vice Chairman Park Hyung-soo, Representatives Choi Yeon-sook, Park Sung-min, Jo Eun-hee, and emergency committee member Kim Byung-min. On the police side, key executives of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, including Commissioner Kim Kwang-ho, the head of the security department, the head of the 112 comprehensive security situation room, and the head of the public safety information and foreign affairs department, were present.

Meanwhile, the Special Committee plans to hold a meeting on the 25th inviting government officials and experts related to the emergency medical system.

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