Special Investigation Unit Launches Supplementary Probe into Key Suspects Following Arrest Warrant Dismissal

Chief Superintendent Ryu Mijin Summoned for Third Time Today
Concurrent Legal Review of Negligent Homicide Involving Former Yongsan Police Chief Lee Imjae and Others

Chief Superintendent Ryu Mijin [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Seongpil Cho, Byungseon Gong] The Police Agency's Special Investigation Headquarters (SIH), investigating the Itaewon disaster, will summon Ryu Mijin, former Director of Personnel and Education at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) (Chief Superintendent), for questioning again on the 7th. Following the summons of Kim Gwangho, Chief of SMPA, the previous day, the SIH is intensifying efforts to solidify charges against key suspects. It is also known that the SIH is concurrently reviewing the legal grounds for the charge of professional negligence resulting in death or injury, which applies to most suspects.

The SIH plans to summon Chief Superintendent Ryu, who is accused of dereliction of duty, to the SIH interrogation room at the SMPA Mapo Office in the afternoon. Previously, the SIH had summoned Ryu twice as a suspect on the 18th and 25th of last month. Ryu is accused of failing to promptly recognize the emergency situation that occurred in Itaewon while serving as the SMPA Situation Manager on the day of the disaster and of delaying reporting to the command headquarters. It is reported that the SIH questioned Ryu about these circumstances during earlier investigations.

According to the SIH investigation and the Police Agency's special inspection team, Ryu was working in his office rather than the SMPA 112 Security Situation Room on the day of the disaster. Ryu reportedly claimed that it was customary for the Situation Manager not to stay in the situation room while on duty. The SIH considers this claim credible but maintains that, given the large-scale casualties, the responsibility of the Situation Manager is clear. The SIH plans to verify the facts of Ryu's statements and secure additional testimony to support the charges.

The SIH also focused on solidifying evidence to prove the charge of professional negligence resulting in death or injury by summoning Chief Kim as a suspect the previous day. On this day, besides Chief Superintendent Ryu, employees from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Seoul City, and Yongsan Police Station will be summoned as witnesses to confirm the measures taken by each institution before and after the disaster.

Former Yongsan Police Chief (Senior Superintendent) Lee Im-jae, who was indicted on charges related to the inadequate response to the Itaewon disaster and the suspected deletion of information reports, is leaving the court after completing the pre-arrest detention hearing (warrant review) at the Western District Court in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on the 5th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Additionally, the SIH is putting full effort into reviewing the direction of detention for key suspects charged with professional negligence resulting in death or injury. Since the court rejected the arrest warrants once for former Yongsan Police Station Chief (Chief Superintendent) Lee Imjae and former Yongsan Station 112 Situation Room Chief (Police Superintendent) Song Byeongju, who were previously applied for arrest warrants on the same charges, supplementary investigations and additional legal reviews are necessary. Regarding former Chief Lee, the SIH is considering adding the charge of falsifying official documents for falsely reporting the time of arrival at the scene and the first instructions on the day of the disaster. The SIH plans to reapply for arrest warrants for former Chief Lee and former Chief Song once this process is completed.

However, as the court applies strict standards to the charge of professional negligence resulting in death or injury, many expect that the detention investigations required by the SIH will face difficulties ahead. Judge Kim Yumi of the Seoul Western District Court, who conducted the pre-arrest hearing for former Chief Lee and others, stated the reason for rejection as "difficulty in recognizing grounds and substantiality for detention and the need for sufficient defense rights." This is interpreted to mean that since investigations have been extensively conducted from the inspection stage, the possibility of evidence destruction is low, making detention investigations unnecessary.

Under the Criminal Procedure Act, the conditions for detention are that the criminal charges are substantiated and there is a risk of flight or evidence destruction. Moreover, the court has recently been strictly limiting the issuance of arrest warrants that restrict the physical freedom of suspects. In particular, the charge of professional negligence resulting in death or injury hinges on intent or willfulness. If suspects build a defense argument that, although they misjudged the situation at the time of the disaster, they did not neglect their duties without justifiable reasons, the investigative authorities will inevitably face difficulties in proving the charges.

An SIH official said, "We will conduct detailed supplementary investigations on the parts where the court judged there was no risk of flight or evidence destruction to supplement the necessity and substantiality of detention," adding, "Although the investigation schedule is delayed, we will complete the supplementary investigations as quickly as possible."

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