Special Investigation Unit, Kim Kwang-ho Seoul Chief Facing Imminent Summons... Possibility of Suspect Status Change

Special Inspection Team Conducted One Investigation
Inspection Materials Transferred to Special Headquarters

Kim Kwang-ho, Commissioner of Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency / Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The direct investigation of Kim Kwang-ho, the Seoul Police Chief of the Police Agency’s Special Investigation Headquarters (Special Investigation HQ) investigating the Itaewon disaster, has entered the final countdown. Kim, as the person responsible for security and policing related to Halloween, has been criticized for negligence in measures taken before and after the disaster.

According to a compilation of reports on the 28th, the Special Investigation HQ is expected to soon coordinate a summons schedule for Chief Kim. There is a possibility that he may be called in for questioning this week. The Special Investigation HQ has repeatedly stated that they will "call Chief Kim at the earliest possible time." As of now, Kim maintains the status of a witness in the Itaewon disaster investigation. It is interpreted that the investigation is still at the stage of questioning related parties, with no clear criminal charges yet. However, since the Police Agency’s Special Inspection Team summoned Kim once for questioning and handed over inspection materials to the Special Investigation HQ on the same day, the possibility of his status changing to that of a suspect in future investigations cannot be ruled out.

There are currently two major suspicions involving Chief Kim related to this disaster. First is the controversy over the authenticity of the request for the Riot Police Unit from the Yongsan Police Station in Seoul during the Halloween period. Former Yongsan Police Chief Lee Im-jae claimed that he requested support from the Riot Police Unit through the Seoul Police Agency’s relevant department, but Kim and others at the Seoul Police Agency have denied this. The Special Investigation HQ has also stated through its investigations that there is no evidence confirming that Yongsan Police Station requested the Riot Police Unit from the Seoul Police Agency. However, as the person in overall charge of Seoul’s security, including the deployment of the Riot Police Unit, Kim is unlikely to be completely exempt from investigations related to the Riot Police Unit deployment. This is based on observations that, despite deploying multiple Riot Police Units to downtown protests on the day of the disaster, not a single unit was deployed to Itaewon, where a crowd of approximately 100,000 people was expected, indicating significant negligence.

Additionally, Kim is unlikely to avoid investigation regarding the suspicion of deletion of the risk analysis report during the Halloween period. So far, it is known that former Seoul Police Agency Public Safety Information and Foreign Affairs Director Park Seong-min (Senior Superintendent) and former Yongsan Police Station Intelligence Division Chief Kim (Police Superintendent) are involved in this suspicion, but there is no confirmed evidence that Kim was involved. However, the Special Investigation HQ has stated that it will keep all possibilities open and investigate thoroughly, planning to examine this suspicion through direct questioning of Kim as well.

Since its launch on the 1st of this month, the Special Investigation HQ has been conducting investigations related to the Itaewon disaster for nearly a month. So far, a total of 17 people, including former Chief Lee, have been booked as suspects, and the direction and scale of detention for some of them are under review. Alongside this, the Special Investigation HQ has focused its investigative efforts on determining the cause of the accident based on analysis of CCTV footage and other evidence collected so far. The Special Investigation HQ is currently reviewing whether and when to announce an interim investigation result summarizing the current investigation status.