Police Chief "Deeply Responsible for Failing to Fulfill Duty in Citizens' Critical Moments"

Yoon Hee-geun, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, is observing a moment of silence for the victims before presiding over the first meeting of the 'Crowd Management Task Force (TF)' to prevent recurrence of crush accidents on the afternoon of the 9th at the National Police Agency in Migeun-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Yoon Hee-geun, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, stated on the 9th regarding the Itaewon disaster, "I deeply feel the infinite responsibility for failing to fulfill our role by the side of the people in their moment of crisis, and I will do my best to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again."

Commissioner Yoon attended the first meeting of the 'Crowd Management Task Force (TF)' held at the National Police Agency in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, in the afternoon, and said, "Public safety is the reason for the police's existence and the highest priority value of police administration." He also expressed, "Once again, I offer my deep condolences to the victims and bereaved families of the Itaewon disaster, and wish for the speedy recovery of the injured."

At the meeting, Commissioner Yoon emphasized uncovering the truth of the disaster and preparing practical measures to prevent recurrence. He said, "We cannot properly protect the people with prescriptions that only repeat the past and insist on customs," adding, "I felt an urgent sense of crisis that if we do not change, we will regress." He continued, "We will consider what truly serves the people and how to fundamentally protect public safety, and change the organizational structure and working methods accordingly."

On the same day, the police formed a Crowd Management Task Force to establish measures to prevent crowd accidents and ensure public safety. The meeting was attended by officials from related departments within the National Police Agency, including Security, Traffic, Community Safety, and Public Order Information Bureaus, as well as 12 civilian experts in crowd management and public safety. Based on the opinions gathered at the meeting, the police plan to develop comprehensive measures for the prevention and response to crowd accidents.