Special Investigation Unit Gains Momentum with the Arrests of Iimjae and Park Heeyoung... Full-Scale Probe into Higher-Ups Begins

Yongsan District Mayor Park Hee-young Detained... "Criminal Charges Proven"
Three More Including Itaewon Police Station Team Leader and 'Frost' CEO Booked
"Investigation Under Review for Minister Lee Sang-min and Chief Yoon Hee-geun"

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@

The Special Investigation Headquarters (Special HQ) investigating the Itaewon disaster is expected to accelerate its probe into the 'upper echelons' including the police leadership, Seoul Metropolitan Government, and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, as it has secured custody of Yim Eum-jae, former chief of Yongsan Police Station, followed by Park Hee-young, mayor of Yongsan District.

Kim Dong-wook, spokesperson for the Special HQ, stated at a briefing held on the 27th at the Mapo office of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, "We have additionally booked three people including the team leader of the Itaewon police box, and are also reviewing whether to investigate Minister Lee Sang-min of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and Commissioner Yoon Hee-geun of the National Police Agency." He added, "Two team leaders of the Itaewon police box have been booked on charges of professional negligence resulting in death and injury, and the owner of the Itaewon bar ‘Frost’ has been booked on charges of violating the Building Act and Road Act. The investigation is nearing completion. Once the custody of Choi Seong-beom, chief of Yongsan Fire Station, and other suspects is finalized, I think the investigation into the Itaewon disaster should also come to an end."

The Special HQ is analyzed to be speeding up the final stages of the investigation by detaining key suspects. The previous day, the Seoul Western District Court issued arrest warrants for Mayor Park and Choi Jae-won, head of Yongsan District’s Safety and Disaster Management Division, who are accused of professional negligence resulting in death and injury due to delayed response on the day of the disaster. Judge Kim Yu-mi, responsible for warrants, explained the reason for issuing the warrants as "the charges have been substantiated and there is a risk of evidence tampering."

The Special HQ began showing investigative results less than a week ago. Earlier this month, the court dismissed arrest warrants for former chief Lee and former director Song. At that time, the Special HQ had applied for warrants only on charges of professional negligence resulting in death and injury, but the court did not issue them, citing insufficient evidence of the crime. However, the Special HQ added charges of falsifying official documents and using forged documents against former chief Lee during supplementary investigations. On the 23rd, the Seoul Western District Court issued arrest warrants for former chief Lee and Song Byung-joo, former head of the Yongsan Police Station 112 Situation Room, citing sufficient evidence of the crime.

Additionally, the investigation related to the Hamilton Hotel is also yielding results. The Special HQ recently booked Lee (75), CEO of Hamilton Hotel, on charges of embezzlement. The police confirmed through the hotel’s accounting records that company funds were illicitly deposited over several years into accounts of Lee’s mother, Kang (94), and wife, Hong (70), who were registered as internal director and auditor, respectively, under the pretext of salaries. The Special HQ is reportedly examining whether Hamilton Hotel created slush funds through this process and used them for lobbying purposes.

Ultimately, Attention Turns to the Upper Echelons... Careful Consideration of Investigations into Lee Sang-min and Yoon Hee-geun

Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min attended the plenary meeting of the Special Committee on the Itaewon Disaster State Audit held at the National Assembly on the 27th and is checking a note. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

However, attention is ultimately focusing on investigations into the upper echelons. Although the Special HQ conducted a search of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on the 17th of last month, Minister Lee’s office was excluded from the search targets. Bereaved families of the Itaewon disaster have criticized this as 'looking out for the upper echelons' and have been pressuring the Special HQ daily. The Special HQ is expected to review the investigation details and, if necessary, investigate Minister Lee and Commissioner Yoon.

Spokesperson Kim said, "The first round of fact-finding investigations involving Ministry of the Interior and Safety officials has been completed. After analyzing the investigation results, we will decide whether to investigate the minister." He added, "Regarding Commissioner Yoon, we will analyze and assess the ongoing witness investigations of National Police Agency personnel." However, he noted, "The investigation into Kim Kwang-ho, chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, has been concluded for now."

Meanwhile, the Special HQ has so far investigated 21 out of a total of 25 suspects and 502 witnesses. Additionally, from the 2nd of last month, they have conducted four search and seizure operations over 26 days. The Special HQ announced that they have secured approximately 27,000 items from 61 locations including the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, National Police Agency, Fire Agency, and Yongsan District Office.

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