All Key Suspects in the Itaewon Tragedy Detained... Investigation into Higher-Ups Gains Momentum (Comprehensive Report 2)

Arrest Warrants Issued for 4 Police Officers and 2 Yongsan District Office Executives
Arrest Warrants Expected for Choi Seongbeom, Yongsan Fire Station Chief, and Choi Jaewon, Yongsan Health Center Director

National Police Agency Special Investigation Headquarters
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Tae-won] Park Hee-young, the Yongsan District Mayor who has been regarded as a key suspect in the Itaewon disaster, was arrested on the 26th. With all the individuals identified as main suspects by the Police Agency’s Special Investigation Headquarters (Special Investigation Unit), including former Yongsan Police Station Chief Lee Im-jae, now detained, it is expected that the Special Investigation Unit’s investigation will gain momentum.

Kim Yu-mi, the warrant judge at the Seoul Western District Court, issued an arrest warrant during the pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant review) for Mayor Park in the evening, stating, "There is sufficient evidence of criminal suspicion and a risk of evidence destruction."

Earlier, on the 20th, the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office requested arrest warrants for Mayor Park and Choi Won-jun, head of the Yongsan District Disaster Safety Division, on charges including professional negligence causing death or injury, following the Special Investigation Unit’s application. 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 or injury).

The Special Investigation Unit cited circumstances suggesting that Mayor Park attempted to destroy evidence by replacing his mobile phone before the investigation as grounds for detention in the warrant. Although destroying evidence related to one’s own criminal suspicion is not subject to criminal punishment, it can be considered as grounds for detention.

Under the "Disaster and Safety Management Basic Act" (Disaster Safety Act), the Special Investigation Unit judged that local governments bear primary responsibility for disaster preparedness and relief, and thus the criminal suspicion is serious. Based on this judgment, it is reported that they also applied for an arrest warrant for Choi, the person in charge of practical duties.

Judge Kim also issued an arrest warrant for Choi. Choi is accused of professional negligence causing death or injury for failing to take appropriate measures necessary for safety management, such as establishing a safety management plan related to the Itaewon Halloween festival, and dereliction of duty for consciously neglecting necessary measures to manage the disaster situation even after the accident occurred. It was confirmed that on the night of October 29, the day of the disaster, he recognized the occurrence of the disaster while drinking with acquaintances but did not go to the scene and instead went home to sleep.

So far, the Special Investigation Unit has applied for arrest warrants for four police officers ? former Yongsan Police Station Chief Lee Im-jae (Senior Superintendent), former Yongsan Police Station 112 Situation Room Chief Song Byung-joo (Police Superintendent), former Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Public Safety Information Foreign Affairs Division Chief Park Sung-min (Police Commissioner), former Yongsan Police Station Intelligence Division Chief Kim Jin-ho (Police Superintendent) ? and two Yongsan District Office executives ? Mayor Park Hee-young and Choi Won-jun, head of the Yongsan District Disaster Safety Division. Among them, former Division Chief Park and former Chief Kim were arrested on the 5th, former Chief Lee and former Chief Song on the 23rd, and on the 26th, Mayor Park and Choi were also arrested, marking a continuous series of victories for the Special Investigation Unit.

Following these achievements, it is expected that the investigation speed for suspects whose detention was postponed after the initial handling of key suspects will accelerate. The Special Investigation Unit is also likely to expedite the process of applying for arrest warrants for other suspects under investigation, such as Choi Seong-beom, Chief of Yongsan Fire Station, and Choi Jae-won, Director of Yongsan Health Center.

The Special Investigation Unit plans to soon apply for an arrest warrant against Chief Choi of Yongsan Fire Station on charges of professional negligence causing death or injury. It is reported that from around 10:28 p.m., when he arrived at the scene on the day of the disaster, until 11:08 p.m., when he declared command, he did not make any phone calls or radio commands. This is interpreted as Chief Choi failing to properly command the scene during the golden hour of rescue, which exacerbated the disaster.

Another issue pointed out by the Special Investigation Unit is that emergency patient triage according to the manual was not conducted, resulting in a large number of deceased being transported to the nearby Soonchunhyang University Hospital, leaving first-priority emergency patients and other critically urgent patients unattended.

Additionally, the Special Investigation Unit is reportedly considering applying for arrest warrants for Song Eun-young, Itaewon Station Manager, who is accused of failing to take measures such as stopping subway trains, and Choi Jae-won, Director of Yongsan Health Center, who is accused of falsifying the time of arrival at the scene.

If the Special Investigation Unit’s investigation, which has gained momentum, proceeds smoothly, it is anticipated that the investigation will also accelerate toward higher-level officials such as Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min and Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner Kim Kwang-ho.

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