Police Chief's Mobile Phone and 13,125 Seized Items Secured
Related Persons to Be Summoned One After Another Upon Completion of Seized Items Analysis
Officials from the Itaewon Disaster Special Investigation Headquarters are leaving the building after completing a search and seizure at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on the 8th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The special investigation headquarters (Special Investigation HQ) of the National Police Agency, investigating the Itaewon disaster, completed a search and seizure operation on 55 related institutions, including the National Police Agency and Yongsan District Office, after about 10 hours on the 8th.
The Special Investigation HQ dispatched 84 personnel to conduct search and seizure operations at 55 locations across four institutions, including the National Police Agency, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Yongsan Police Station, Yongsan District Office, Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters, Seoul Comprehensive Disaster Prevention Center, Yongsan Fire Station, Seoul Transportation Corporation headquarters, and Itaewon Station, from 9 a.m. to 6:50 p.m. on the same day. As of 6 p.m., the Special Investigation HQ secured a total of 13,125 items, including 45 mobile phones belonging to Police Commissioner Yoon Hee-geun and Seoul Police Chief Kim Kwang-ho, 472 documents related to Halloween safety measures, 12,593 pieces of computer electronic information, and 15 closed-circuit television (CCTV) videos.
This search and seizure operation is the second forced investigation following the one conducted on the 2nd at eight locations, including the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. The operation on this day was heavily focused on the police, targeting 26 locations across three institutions: the National Police Agency, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, and Yongsan Police Station. Notably, the fact that the Special Investigation HQ initiated a forced investigation against the Police Commissioner and Seoul Police Chief is interpreted as the investigation’s focus turning toward the highest police command.
The Special Investigation HQ plans to summon and investigate related individuals sequentially once the analysis of the seized items is completed. In this process, the status of Commissioner Yoon and Chief Kim may be changed to suspects, and, similar to former Yongsan Police Station Chief Lee Im-jae, they are expected to face charges of professional negligence resulting in death or injury. There is also speculation that arrest warrants may be requested for the head and section chief of the Yongsan Police Station’s intelligence division, who are suspected of evidence tampering.
The Special Investigation HQ’s investigation is expected to expand to higher levels of fire and administrative organizations. A Special Investigation HQ official stated at a briefing the previous day, "We are also reviewing the legal responsibilities and roles of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Seoul Metropolitan Government." The Special Investigation HQ did not include the Ministry of the Interior and Safety or Seoul City Hall in the targets of the second search and seizure operation. However, the possibility of future search and seizure operations at these locations cannot be ruled out, and depending on the case, the names of suspects specified in warrants could include Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon.
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