Imjae Lee and Heeyoung Park Arrest Warrants Requested... Special Investigation Headquarters' Turning Point (Comprehensive)

Criticism Inevitable if Warrant Denied
Legitimacy Secured if Issued... Investigation Speed
Special Investigation Unit Confident in Warrant Issuance

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The Special Investigation Headquarters (Special HQ) of the National Police Agency, which is investigating the Itaewon disaster, has filed arrest warrants with the court for key suspects including former Yongsan Police Station Chief Lee Im-jae. This marks a critical turning point that could determine the success or failure of the Special HQ's investigation, which has been ongoing for over 50 days since its launch on the 1st of last month.

On the 20th, the Special HQ announced that it had applied for arrest warrants for five individuals: former Chief Lee, former Yongsan Police Station 112 Situation Room Chief (Police Superintendent) Song Byung-joo, Yongsan District Office officials including District Mayor Park Hee-young, Director of Safety, Construction and Transportation Moon In-hwan, and Disaster Safety Division Chief Choi Won-jun. Regarding former Chief Lee's warrant, the Special HQ added charges of falsification and use of false official documents in addition to the existing charges of professional negligence causing death and injury. The others, including Mayor Park, face charges of professional negligence causing death and injury. Chief Choi has an additional charge of dereliction of duty.

The Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office filed the arrest warrants with the Seoul Western District Court this afternoon, specifying these charges. However, the warrant for Director Moon was rejected by the Special HQ, which requested supplementary investigation.

According to the Special HQ, former Chief Lee is accused of failing to take appropriate measures before and after the disaster, which exacerbated the casualties. He is also charged with falsifying the recorded time of arrival at the scene. Superintendent Song is accused of failing to take proper safety measures, such as pushing the crowd spilling onto the roadway back onto the sidewalk, despite a 112 emergency call warning of the risk of crushing just before the disaster.

Mayor Park is charged with negligence in preparing safety accident prevention measures during the Halloween period and inappropriate response to the disaster. The Special HQ considers the charges against the local government officials, who bear primary responsibility for disaster preparedness and relief under the Disaster and Safety Management Basic Act, to be more serious than those against the police. Based on this judgment, arrest warrants were also applied for the practical officials, Director Moon and Chief Choi.

Previously, on the 1st, the Special HQ applied for arrest warrants for former Chief Lee and Superintendent Song on charges of professional negligence causing injury, but the court dismissed them. Since then, the Special HQ has conducted a comprehensive supplementary investigation, adding charges of falsification and use of false official documents against former Chief Lee and proceeded to reapply for the arrest warrants. The necessity of arrest and the likelihood of warrant issuance were also reviewed for three senior officials of the Yongsan District Office, including Mayor Park.

Park Hee-young, Mayor of Yongsan District Photo by Yonhap News

If the warrants are dismissed again, the Special HQ is likely to face criticism for insufficient investigative capability. So far, the only suspects the Special HQ has sent for detention are two police officials involved in the 'information report deletion suspicion,' which has drawn criticism for wasting investigative resources on matters unrelated to the core of the disaster.

Conversely, if the warrants are issued, the legitimacy of the Special HQ's investigation, which has been questioned until now, will be somewhat secured. Furthermore, following the initial detention of key suspects, investigations into higher-ups such as Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min and Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner Kim Kwang-ho, which had been postponed, are expected to accelerate.

The Special HQ is confident about the issuance of the warrants. A Special HQ official said, "This is a case involving multiple casualties, and we have made efforts to prove the crime through thorough investigation," adding, "The warrants will be issued."

With the arrest warrants filed today, the pre-arrest suspect hearing (warrant substantive examination) is expected to be handled by Judge Kim Yu-mi of the Seoul Western District Court, who is in charge of warrants. She previously dismissed the warrant for former Chief Lee once. The Seoul Western District Court assigns two judges to handle warrant examinations on a weekly basis, and this week is Judge Kim's turn. A Special HQ official said, "We have conducted supplementary investigations without considering which judge would handle the warrant examination."

Separately from this warrant application, the Special HQ is also considering the necessity of arrest investigations for fire department officials, including Yongsan Fire Station Chief Choi Seong-beom. They are also expected to attempt to secure the custody of Song Eun-young, the Itaewon Station Manager, who is at the center of the controversy over non-stop passage. A Special HQ official said, "We will decide whether to apply for arrest warrants as soon as the supplementary investigation is completed."

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