‘Itaewon Tragedy’ Bereaved Families and Civic Groups... "Investigate Lee Sang-min, National Police Chief, and Others"

Minister of the Interior Sang-min Lee, Police Chief Hee-geun Yoon, Seoul Chief Kwang-ho Kim, etc.
"Failure to Take Measures to Prevent Danger"
Investigation Urging Letter Submitted to Special Investigation Headquarters

Bereaved families of the Itaewon disaster victims and civic groups urged the Police Agency's Special Investigation Headquarters (Special Investigation Unit) to investigate Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min and Commissioner General of Police Yoon Hee-geun.

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] “Thorough accountability, investigate the real responsible parties”

Bereaved families of the Itaewon disaster victims and civic groups have urged the Police Agency’s Special Investigation Headquarters (SIH) to investigate Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min and Commissioner of the National Police Agency Yoon Hee-geun.

The Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun) and People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy held a press conference at 11 a.m. on the 1st in front of the Mapo Police Station in Seoul, submitting a request for investigation to the SIH, stating that “investigations into higher-ups and the real responsible parties have been sluggish or have not even led to suspects being booked.” About ten bereaved family members of the disaster victims also participated in the press conference.

They argued that the SIH’s investigation has been focused on frontline police officers and firefighters, and that investigations should be conducted on the police command responsible for final accountability and Minister Lee. Lawyer Kim Nam-geun of People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy said, “From 2017 until last year, safety measures for the Itaewon Halloween festival had been prepared,” adding, “Despite knowing this, only frontline police station staff and firefighters who were negligent on the day of the disaster are being investigated, while those responsible for failing to establish any safety measures are not being included as subjects of investigation.”

They also pointed out that the SIH’s investigation should reflect the opinions of the bereaved families. Yoon Bok-nam, a lawyer from Minbyun’s 10·29 Itaewon Disaster Response Task Force, emphasized that the victims are not merely recipients of support, stating, “The bereaved families should be subjects who clarify responsibility for the disaster and have access to relevant information and express opinions during the process of preventing recurrence.”

The bereaved families demanded the dismissal of Minister Lee and expressed disappointment toward President Yoon Seok-yeol. Jo Mi-eun, mother of the late actor Lee Ji-han, said, “(President Yoon) should have patted the shoulders of the bereaved families rather than Minister Lee,” adding, “Although you said you must take infinite responsibility for public safety, on October 29 in Itaewon, the state was absent.”

Meanwhile, they announced plans to hold a press conference next week urging investigations into local governments such as Yongsan District Office, following the police and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.