Prosecution Targets Main Office Beyond Yongsan and Seoul Police Agency... Itaewon Disaster Investigation Reaches 'Apex'

Investigation into Police Agency's Involvement in Charges of Negligent Homicide and Injury
Records Related to Reports Secured through Police Agency Search on the 9th

[Asia Economy Reporters Tae-won Choi and Seong-pil Jo] Prosecutors reinforcing the investigation into the Itaewon disaster are increasingly believed to be targeting not only the Yongsan Police Station and Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency but also the National Police Agency. There is a growing atmosphere that the National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoon Hee-geun, the top police official, may also be subject to prosecution.

According to investigative authorities on the 10th, the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office is currently analyzing various reports and documents related to before and after the disaster, which were secured through a raid on seven offices of the National Police Agency’s Intelligence Bureau in Migeun-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, conducted the previous day. This is the third time prosecutors have raided the National Police Agency in connection with the Itaewon incident, following the seizure of digital forensic data over two days on the 10th and 11th of last month.

Within and outside the police, the raid conducted the day before is interpreted as evidence that the prosecutors’ investigation net is gradually narrowing in on the National Police Agency’s leadership. The National Police Agency’s Special Investigation Headquarters (SIH), which investigated the Itaewon disaster, judged that the autonomous police affairs related to the multi-crowd congestion situation in the area were clear, and therefore did not hold Commissioner General Yoon Hee-geun responsible, not even registering him as a suspect. However, as prosecutors have repeatedly raided the National Police Agency beyond the scope of records handed over by the SIH, the investigation appears to be tightening around Commissioner Yoon and other top officials.

The reports obtained by prosecutors are known to include the risks of accidents due to large crowds during the Halloween period and the police response plans. Prosecutors suspect these reports could serve as evidence supporting charges of professional negligence resulting in death or injury against police officials. They are expected to analyze the chain of command for instructions and reporting within these documents to determine whether the National Police Agency was involved in deleting Halloween-related reports, and whether the agency’s top leadership foresaw the risk of the disaster through the reports they received but failed to take appropriate measures.

Depending on the analysis of the seized materials, the necessity of investigating Commissioner General Yoon and Deputy Commissioner General Jo Ji-ho, the first and second highest-ranking officials in the National Police Agency, is also likely to be considered. Commissioner Yoon could be held accountable as the head of the police for recognizing the dangerous situation in advance but failing to establish any safety measures, while Deputy Commissioner Jo, who was the head of the National Police Agency’s Intelligence Bureau at the time of the Itaewon disaster, may become a subject of investigation over suspicions of 'report deletion.'

Earlier, prosecutors confirmed that Seoul Metropolitan Police Commissioner Kim Kwang-ho received reports on security burdens during the Halloween period, compiled from frontline information, and are currently investigating him on charges of professional negligence resulting in death or injury, including conducting two raids on his office recently. However, Kim has not yet been summoned for questioning.

Meanwhile, prosecutors additionally registered two police officers from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Intelligence Department as suspects on the same day in connection with the Itaewon disaster investigation. They are accused of involvement in deleting intelligence reports that foresaw the Itaewon disaster (including obstruction of evidence). Prosecutors believe these individuals were involved in deleting a total of five reports: four from the Yongsan Police Station’s Intelligence Division and one intelligence report prepared by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

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