Booked on Charges of Negligent Homicide in the Line of Duty
Policy to Verify Measures Taken Before and After the Disaster
[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The Police Agency's Special Investigation Headquarters (Special Investigation HQ), which is investigating the Itaewon disaster, will summon Kim Gwang-ho, Chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, as a suspect for questioning on the 2nd. With the sudden summons of Chief Kim, a top police official, evaluations are emerging that the investigation targeting the 'upper echelons' has officially begun.
On the morning of the same day, the Special Investigation HQ plans to summon Chief Kim, who is accused of professional negligence resulting in death and injury, to the Special Investigation HQ interrogation room at the Mapo Police Station in Seoul to verify the measures taken before and after the disaster as the person responsible for security and policing during the Halloween period. Previously, the Special Investigation HQ reportedly changed Chief Kim's status from a witness to a suspect based on materials secured through raids and testimonies from related parties. The disciplinary materials on Chief Kim handed over by the Police Agency's Special Inspection Team on the 28th of last month are also said to have served as grounds for changing his legal status to that of a suspect.
As the person ultimately responsible for security in Seoul, Chief Kim is accused of recognizing the situation late on the day of the disaster and exacerbating casualties due to delayed response. It is known that Chief Kim first became aware of the situation at 11:36 p.m., 1 hour and 21 minutes after the accident, upon receiving a report from former Chief Lee. He then took a taxi to the accident site, but by that time, a large-scale casualty had already occurred. The Special Investigation HQ plans to confirm the circumstances and details of the situation with Chief Kim.
The Special Investigation HQ also intends to question whether Chief Kim was requested to deploy the riot police by former Yongsan Police Station Chief Lee Im-jae before the Halloween festival. Former Chief Lee has claimed that he requested support from the Seoul Police Agency's relevant department for riot police deployment during Halloween, but Chief Kim has denied this. The Special Investigation HQ has also stated that it has not confirmed any indications of such a request from Yongsan Police Station during its investigations so far.
Separately from the Yongsan Police Station's request for riot police, the Special Investigation HQ has confirmed that during internal discussions on Halloween response measures, Chief Kim and Yoon Si-seung, Head of the Seoul Police Agency's Security Department, had a phone conversation stating that deploying riot police in the Itaewon area was difficult due to issues related to assembly and protest security. There have been many criticisms that if the riot police had been pre-deployed at the scene during the disaster, the damage could have been reduced. The Special Investigation HQ plans to verify the details of this matter with Chief Kim.
Furthermore, the Special Investigation HQ is expected to investigate whether Chief Kim was involved in the alleged deletion of the risk analysis report during the Halloween period. So far, no evidence of Chief Kim's involvement has been confirmed, but the Special Investigation HQ's position is to keep all possibilities open during the investigation. Regarding this allegation, the Special Investigation HQ applied for arrest warrants yesterday for former Seoul Police Agency Public Safety Information and Foreign Affairs Division Chief Park Seong-min (Police Commissioner) and former Yongsan Police Station Intelligence Division Chief Kim (Police Superintendent) on charges of instructing evidence destruction.
Earlier, the Special Investigation HQ applied for pre-arrest warrants for four police executives, including former Commissioner Park and former Chief Lee. With the sudden summons of Chief Kim on this day, evaluations inside and outside the police are that the Special Investigation HQ's investigation is gaining momentum. In particular, since Chief Kim is the highest-ranking police officer to be booked since the Special Investigation HQ was launched, there is talk that the investigation has officially begun to target the 'upper echelons.'
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