'Itaewon Tragedy' Park Hee-young, Yongsan District Mayor, Appears for Warrant Hearing... Silent to Questions

Charged with Involuntary Manslaughter Due to Negligence...Warrant Hearing at 2 PM

Park Hee-young, the mayor of Yongsan District, who is accused of professional negligence causing death and injury related to the Itaewon disaster, is attending the pre-trial detention hearing at the Seoul Western District Court in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on the 26th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Tae-won] Park Hee-young, the Yongsan District Mayor accused of inadequate response to the Itaewon disaster, appeared for a pre-arrest detention hearing (warrant review) on the 26th.

Mayor Park arrived at the Seoul Western District Court around 1:20 PM to attend the warrant review. The hearing is scheduled to be conducted at 2 PM by Judge Kim Yu-mi, who is in charge of warrants.

He entered the court without responding to reporters' questions such as "How do you feel right now?" and "Why did you change your phone?" on the first floor of the courthouse.

Earlier, the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office requested an arrest warrant for Mayor Park on charges including professional negligence causing death and injury, following an application from the police special investigation headquarters (Special Investigation Unit) investigating the Itaewon disaster on the 20th.

Mayor Park is accused of neglecting to prepare safety accident prevention measures during the Halloween period and responding inadequately to the disaster (professional negligence causing death and injury). The warrant also cites evidence destruction attempts, such as replacing his mobile phone before the investigation, as grounds for detention.

Choi Won-jun, head of the Safety and Disaster Department at Yongsan District Office, who also had an arrest warrant requested, appeared at the Seoul Western District Court around 1:25 PM on the same day. As the person responsible for Halloween safety measures in the main department, he is charged with causing the disaster due to insufficient prior measures and exacerbating casualties through inadequate post-disaster response (professional negligence causing death and injury).

He is also charged with dereliction of duty for failing to take necessary measures to manage the disaster aftermath. It was found that on the night of the disaster, while drinking with acquaintances, he became aware of the incident but did not go to the scene and instead went home to sleep.

Previously, on the 23rd, the Seoul Western District Court issued an arrest warrant for former Yongsan Police Chief Lee Im-jae, stating, "There is sufficient reason to believe the suspects committed the crime, and there is a risk of evidence destruction."

Since the police, who support local governments in disaster preparedness and relief, are also somewhat held responsible for professional negligence causing death and injury, the Special Investigation Unit expects that arrest warrants for Yongsan District Office executives will also be issued.

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