Park Hee-young, Assistant to the Mayor of Yongsan-gu, "Press Release Written Based on Reader's Judgment"

Allegations of Fabricating False Press Releases to Conceal Inadequate Response

Park Hee-young, an aide to the Yongsan District Mayor accused of fabricating a press release to cover up the poor response to the Itaewon disaster, stated that he independently wrote the press release.

Heo, a policy aide at Yongsan District Office, appeared as a witness at the trial of Mayor Park held on the 6th at the Seoul Western District Court Criminal Division 11 (Presiding Judge Bae Seong-jung) and made this statement.

Park Hee-young, Mayor of Yongsan District, is attending the first trial held at the Seoul Western District Court on the afternoon of the 6th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

When the court asked Heo whether he received any instructions from Mayor Park regarding the main content before drafting the press release, he replied, "Not at all."

The prosecution charged Mayor Park with sending a message to the policy aide saying, "It seems necessary to respond to the media," after a series of reports criticized Yongsan District's inadequate response the day after the Itaewon disaster on October 30 last year, and then receiving and distributing a press release that falsely described his whereabouts.

The press release stated that Mayor Park arrived at the scene at around 10:50 p.m. the previous day, just six minutes after the first report, and that Yongsan District set up an emergency situation room around 11 p.m. and held an emergency countermeasure meeting. However, the actual time Mayor Park arrived at the scene was 10:59 p.m., and no meeting was held around 11 p.m.

Heo claimed that on the day of the Itaewon disaster, Mayor Park informed staff of the accident at 10:53 p.m., and this was recorded as the "first report." He explained that the incorrect arrival time was a typographical error, and the discrepancy in the emergency situation room setup time was due to a mistake made by an administrative support department employee when preparing the report.

He also stated that the draft of the press release was prepared by the Public Relations Office, and that he had already discussed it independently with the person in charge before Mayor Park mentioned responding to the media. Mayor Park only briefly glanced at the press release without asking any questions or making any comments about its content.

Meanwhile, Lee Mo, president of the Itaewon Tourism Special Zone Association, also appeared as a witness at the trial that day. He testified that during a meeting with police and district office officials on October 26 last year to prepare for Halloween, there was no discussion about the crush accident or related matters.

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