"Uiryeong Business Trip Clarified as Official Duty, Not Personal Work"
Yongsan District Mayor Park Hee-young is attending an emergency inquiry on the Itaewon disaster held at the National Assembly on the 7th, responding to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Park Hee-young, mayor of Yongsan District, Seoul, stated on the 7th that she finds it difficult to agree with the claim that Yongsan District holds the primary overall responsibility for the Itaewon tragedy, and indicated that she has no intention of resigning from her position as mayor.
At the plenary session of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee that day, when Kim Cheol-min, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, asked, "The first cause of the Itaewon tragedy lies with Yongsan District, which failed to establish safety measures to prevent foreseeable incidents and accidents. Do you agree with my claim?" Park responded, "We prepared, but it was insufficient."
When Rep. Kim asked again, "Do you agree that the primary overall responsibility lies with Yongsan District, which initially failed in preparation, rather than the police who were inexperienced in on-site response?" Park said, "I find it difficult to fully agree."
Regarding whether she reported to the Seoul mayor or the Minister of the Interior and Safety after the incident, Park stated, "When the disaster occurred, the police and fire services were all present, and a command center was established, so there was no time to separately contact Seoul City. We were busy conducting rescue operations on-site."
When Rep. Cho Eun-hee of the People Power Party asked about her current feelings, Park replied, "I cannot help but feel sorrowful over the irreversibility of time and a heavy sense of responsibility, and I am deeply sorry. Upon arriving at the scene, I ordered emergency rescue activities and countermeasures, but it was insufficient." She added, "I was worried about causing further wounds to the bereaved families, so I could not respond to the media's questions. I feel like a sinner," and said, "As mayor, I will not evade responsibility and will sincerely engage in fact-finding."
Rep. Cho asked, "How should we understand your statement that you will not evade responsibility?" Park explained, "I meant it in terms of the mayor's infinite responsibility to protect the safety of the people." When asked again, "Specifically, what responsibility?" Park only stated, "A moral responsibility for the great sacrifice that occurred."
Yong Hye-in, a member of the Basic Income Party, raised suspicions that Mayor Park went on a business trip to Uiryeong, Gyeongnam, on the morning of the tragedy for personal reasons. According to Rep. Yong, Park left Yongsan around 6 a.m., arrived in Uiryeong at 11 a.m., had a brief tea time of about 10 minutes with the Uiryeong county governor around 2 p.m., then departed Uiryeong around 4 p.m. and returned to Yongsan at 8:20 p.m. Park denied this, saying, "That is not true. I scheduled the appointment first and went down. It was official business, not personal affairs."
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