On the 22nd, the National Civil Servants Union firefighting headquarters held a press conference in front of the Itaewon Accident Police Special Investigation Headquarters to deliver signatures urging firefighters to stop the investigation. The firefighting union counted that 130,000 people participated as of the 20th on the signature paper titled ‘Protecting 70,000 firefighters’. yunhap news
On the 23rd, the National Police Agency’s Special Investigation Headquarters (Special Edition), which investigates the government and local governments’ poor response to the Itaewon disaster, booked nine additional police, firefighting, and district office officials, including Park Seong-min, former head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s public security information and foreign affairs department.
The special edition said that four additional policemen were booked that day, including former manager Park, former Yongsan Police Station 112 situation chief, former Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency situation team leader, and Yongsan police officer. At the Yongsan-gu Office, three people, including Yoo Seung-jae, the deputy head of the district office, the head of the Safety Construction and Transportation Bureau, and the head of the disaster safety section were booked. Yongsan Fire Station’s on-site command team leader and Itaewon station manager were also formally charged. A total of 17 people have been charged in relation to the disaster so far.
Director Park and the information department staff at Yongsan Police Station are charged with instigating evidence destruction and destroying evidence, respectively. Former manager Park, who is being summoned for questioning on the 24th, is suspected of ordering the information report posted on the internal police network by an employee of the Yongsan Police Station Information Division prior to the disaster to be deleted following the disaster occurred. At the time, the report contained concerns regarding the crowds in Itaewon on the occasion of Halloween.
The special edition said that in the process of deleting the information report, the circumstances in which former manager Park reported or shared it in advance with senior officials such as Kim Gwang-ho, the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government have not been identified. The special edition plans to summon Commissioner Kim once the related investigation is completed.
Excluding former manager Park and the information department staff at Yongsan Police Station, the remaining seven additional suspects are charged with negligence due to work-related negligence.
The former head of the 112 Situation Department at Yongsan-seo, who has been under investigation since 10 a.m. on the same day, worked at the Itaewon site from the evening on the day of the accident as the person in charge, but was charged with failing to take appropriate action. In the special version, the former head of the Situation Team 3 of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, who was on duty on the same day, was also booked as there was a problem with the measures at the time.
The special version judged that there was a problem in taking appropriate measures as the on-site commanding officer following the Yongsan Fire Station field command team leader arrived at the scene on the day of the accident and before Choi Seong-beom, the Yongsan Fire Station commander, made a declaration of command. Police see the golden time for rescue as around 11 p.m.
Chief Choi Seong-beom, who is scheduled for a second summons on the 26th, refutes the allegations. The special edition dismissed this as “simple denial of the allegations.” “According to the secured plan, safe work and patrol are clearly separated, and the safe work place is clearly designated in front of the Hamilton Hotel,” said Kim Dong-wook, a spokesman for the special division.
Regarding the prosecution of the Itaewon station manager, the special edition explained, “We found out that the Itaewon station manager has the authority to request it to the control center without the request of the police or the local government to pass without stopping.” It was believed that the failure to pass without stopping on the day was related to the cause of the accident.
On the 27th of last month, two days before the disaster, Bu-gu Mayor Yoo attended the Halloween safety meeting held at the district office instead of Yongsan-gu Mayor Park Hee-young and presided over the meeting. The police are investigating whether Yongsan-gu’s safety management measures and on-site response were appropriate. The newly booked Yongsan-gu Office Safety Construction and Transportation Director and Disaster Safety Manager were also booked as being responsible for disaster safety management. The special edition said, “It did not capture allegations related to illegal expansion.”
Among the officials additionally booked that day, none belonged to the Ministry of Public Administration and Security or the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The special edition is scheduled to investigate public officials of the Ministry of Public Administration and Security as witnesses for two days from this day, and the investigation of Seoul officials is coordinating the schedule.
The special edition conducted an investigation into the accusation once morest the firefighters union of the Korean Civil Service Workers Union, which accused the Minister of Public Administration and Security Lee Sang-min of dereliction of duty, business negligence, and accidental death.
The special version plans to apply for arrest warrants for the main suspects around next week.
