Special Investigation Unit, Chief Superintendent Ryu Mijin Also Recalled... Strengthening Charges Against Key Suspects

Seoul Police Station Situation Team 3 Chief Also Investigated
Following Former Yongsan Police Chief the Day Before
Yongsan Fire Chief to Be Recalled Tomorrow

Chief Superintendent Ryu Mi-jin is entering the Police Agency's Special Investigation Unit on the 25th to undergo investigation related to the Itaewon tragedy.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The Police Agency's Special Investigation Headquarters (Special Investigation HQ), which is investigating the Itaewon disaster, will summon Ryu Mijin, former Personnel Training Division Chief (Senior Superintendent) and the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Situation Manager on the day of the disaster, for further questioning on the 25th. Following the re-summoning of former Yongsan Police Station Chief Lee Imjae the previous day, the Special Investigation HQ appears to be intensifying charges against key suspects.

The Special Investigation HQ began questioning Senior Superintendent Ryu at the Seoul Police Agency's Mapo Office from 10 a.m. on the same day, summoning him as a suspect. This is the second investigation since his first summons on the 18th. The Special Investigation HQ plans to question Senior Superintendent Ryu in detail about the specific circumstances under which he failed to promptly grasp the emergency situation occurring in Itaewon while on duty at the Seoul Police Agency's 112 Integrated Security Situation Room on the day of the disaster and delayed reporting to the command.

According to the Special Investigation HQ, Senior Superintendent Ryu is accused of neglect of duty for leaving his designated post at the Seoul Police Agency's 112 Integrated Security Situation Room on the day of the disaster and failing to report the incident to the Seoul Police Agency Chief in a timely manner. However, through investigations so far, the Special Investigation HQ has determined that Ryu's delayed report was not the direct cause of the large-scale casualties resulting from disruptions in rescue operations.

Nevertheless, the Special Investigation HQ has charged the Situation Team 3 Leader of the Seoul Police Agency, who delayed reporting to Senior Superintendent Ryu at the time, with professional negligence causing death and injury on the 23rd, believing that his actions contributed to worsening the disaster's damage. The Special Investigation HQ is also questioning the Situation Team 3 Leader as a suspect on the same day. During this investigation, they plan to verify not only the charges against Senior Superintendent Ryu but also how the Situation Team 3 Leader's failure to report affected the disaster.

The Special Investigation HQ re-summoned former Yongsan Police Station Chief Lee Imjae (Senior Superintendent) for questioning the previous day. It is reported that the Special Investigation HQ focused on probing the dispute over the request for deployment of the riot police between Yongsan Police Station and the Seoul Police Agency. A Special Investigation HQ official stated, "No objective evidence or testimonies from related parties confirming that former Chief Lee ordered the request for riot police deployment were found beyond his statements."

The Special Investigation HQ will also re-summon Yongsan Fire Station Chief Choi Seongbeom on the 26th for questioning. Chief Choi is accused of professional negligence causing death and injury for not dispatching despite the police's joint response request just before the disaster and for delaying the issuance of Response Level 2 immediately after the incident, which exacerbated casualties. The Special Investigation HQ plans to strengthen charges against the re-summoned suspects within two weeks and apply for arrest warrants sometime next week. A Special Investigation HQ official said, "We plan to focus on supplementary investigations necessary to decide the direction of custody next week."

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