Suspicions of Inadequate Response in 'Itaewon Disaster': Lee Im-jae and Park Hee-young Deny Charges in Trial

Iimjae's Side "Raises Legal Issues on Criminal Responsibility"
Park Heeyoung's Side "No Presentation of Causality or Specific Duty of Care"

Former Yongsan Police Chief Lee Im-jae and Yongsan District Mayor Park Hee-young, who are suspected of inadequate response to the ‘Itaewon disaster,’ denied the charges at their first trial.

Former Yongsan Police Chief Lee Im-jae is leaving the court after completing the pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing) at the Western District Court in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on December 5 last year. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The Criminal Division 11 of the Seoul Western District Court (Presiding Judge Bae Seong-jung) held a pretrial hearing at 10:30 a.m. on the 17th for five Yongsan Police officials, including former Chief Lee, who are accused of professional negligence resulting in death and injury, and falsification and use of false official documents. At 11 a.m., a pretrial hearing was held for four Yongsan District Office officials, including Mayor Park, who face the same charges.

The pretrial hearing is a procedure before the formal trial, where the court listens to the prosecution and defense’s plans for evidence presentation and selects necessary evidence and witnesses. Defendants are not obligated to attend, but on this day, all eight defendants except Mayor Park were present.

All key defendants, including the five Yongsan Police officials led by former Chief Lee and the four Yongsan District Office officials led by Mayor Park, denied the charges on this day. When the court asked if they all denied the allegations, their lawyers answered yes.

When the court asked former Chief Lee’s defense, “Putting aside moral and administrative responsibility, do you raise legal issues about extending to criminal liability, and do you deny the act of falsifying official documents itself?” they replied, “Yes.”

Former Chief Lee is accused of neglecting command by failing to take prior measures despite safety reports recommending deployment of personnel during the Halloween festival period, and arriving late at the scene on the day of the Itaewon disaster. He is also accused of involvement in the creation of a false police situation report stating that he arrived at the Itaewon police substation at 10:17 p.m., although he actually arrived at 11:05 p.m., 48 minutes later.

Mayor Park and other Yongsan District Office officials also answered “Yes” when asked by the court if they denied the charges. Mayor Park’s defense argued that no causal relationship or specific duty of care was presented, and that there was no foreseeability or possibility of avoidance.

Mayor Park is accused of failing to establish and implement an effective safety management plan for the Itaewon area during the Halloween festival period, as the local government head and relevant department head primarily responsible for disaster and safety. He is also accused of not properly operating a permanent disaster safety situation room and failing to establish a proper cooperation system with related agencies such as the police and fire department.

Meanwhile, the court stated, “The contents of the indictment in this case are quite extensive,” and announced that it would hold one more pretrial hearing before the main trial. The next pretrial hearing for former Chief Lee and other police officials is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on the 10th of next month, and the next pretrial hearing for Mayor Park and other district office officials is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on the 17th of next month.

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