Special Investigation Unit to Summon Former Seoul Police Agency Intelligence Chief on 24th Over 'Report Deletion Allegation'

The signboard of the Itaewon Accident Special Investigation Headquarters (Special Investigation Unit), which is investigating the inadequate response to the 'Itaewon tragedy,' 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 (SIH), which is investigating the Itaewon tragedy, will summon Park Seong-min, former Public Safety Information and Foreign Affairs Division Chief (Police Commissioner) of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, on the 24th for questioning regarding suspicions of deleting a risk analysis report during the Halloween period.

According to a compilation of reports from our coverage on the 23rd, the SIH plans to summon Commissioner Park to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Mapo Office the following morning for investigation. It has not been confirmed whether the SIH will summon him as a suspect or as a witness. The SIH is expected to clarify Commissioner Park’s legal status during a briefing that morning.

Commissioner Park is suspected of instructing the deletion of information reports in a messenger chatroom where intelligence chiefs from frontline police stations, including Yongsan Police Station, gathered, saying, "Delete the information reports to prepare for inspection and seizure," following the occurrence of the Itaewon tragedy. The Police Agency’s Special Inspection Team placed Commissioner Park on standby on the 14th due to these suspicions and referred the case to the SIH for investigation.

Regarding these suspicions, the SIH has been investigating Kim, a former intelligence chief at Yongsan Police Station, who was booked on the 6th on charges including abuse of authority, obstruction of evidence, and professional negligence causing injury or death. On the 15th, Kim was summoned as a suspect to confirm whether he relayed Commissioner Park’s deletion instructions.

The SIH also reportedly summoned intelligence division staff from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency as witnesses to inquire about when Commissioner Park became aware of the report. If Commissioner Park knew about the report’s existence before issuing deletion instructions in the messenger chatroom and judged it would be problematic, it could be seen as intentional evidence destruction.

The report titled "Itaewon Halloween Festival Public Safety Risk Analysis" is known to have included phrases such as "Pedestrians entering the road due to large crowds, traffic inconvenience reports, and concerns about traffic accidents." The SIH believes that after Commissioner Park’s instructions in the messenger chatroom, Kim ordered other employees to delete the report and then persuaded the staff.

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