Special Investigation Unit summons Park Hee-young, Yongsan District Mayor, for the third time... Continued strengthening of charges

Yongsan On-Site Command Team Leader Also Recalled

Park Hee-young, Mayor of Yongsan District Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The Special Investigation Headquarters (Special HQ) of the National Police Agency investigating the Itaewon disaster will summon Park Hee-young, the mayor of Yongsan District, for questioning again on the 29th.

The Special HQ is conducting a summons investigation of Mayor Park, who is suspected of professional negligence resulting in death and injury, starting from 10 a.m. today. Mayor Park previously appeared before the Special HQ as a suspect for questioning on the 18th and the day before. Additionally, on the 22nd, Mayor Park visited the Special HQ to observe the digital forensic investigation of his mobile phone and other devices.

Having summoned Mayor Park for two consecutive days, the Special HQ plans to question him about whether proper Halloween safety measures were established and what actual duties he performed. Mayor Park was booked on the 6th on charges including professional negligence resulting in death and injury for neglecting to prepare safety accident prevention measures during the Halloween period and for inappropriate response to the disaster. The Special HQ also imposed a travel ban on Mayor Park on the 11th.

This afternoon, the Special HQ will also summon Lee, who was the on-site command team leader of the Yongsan Fire Station at the time of the disaster, for questioning again. Lee was re-designated as a suspect on the 23rd and was questioned the following day. The Special HQ intends to verify with Lee whether the fire department’s on-site situation assessment and command during the early stages of the disaster, when casualties could have been reduced, were appropriate.

In addition, the Special HQ is conducting witness investigations of employees from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, the Fire Department, and the Yongsan Public Health Center. For major suspects, the Special HQ plans to decide on the direction of their custody, including filing arrest warrants within two weeks.