Prosecutors Determine 'No Request for Police Riot Squad During Itaewon Disaster'

"Yongsan Police Station Focuses on Crime Prevention Including Drug Crackdowns"
"Lee Can Recognize On-Site Situations in Advance via Official Car Radio"

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Taewon] The prosecution has determined that the Yongsan Police Station did not request the Riot Police Unit from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on the day of the Itaewon disaster.

Former Yongsan Police Station Chief Lee Im-jae is leaving the court after completing the pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing) at the Western District Court in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on December 5 last year. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

According to the indictments of five Yongsan police officers, including former Yongsan Police Station Chief Lee Im-jae and former Yongsan 112 Comprehensive Security Situation Room Chief Song Byung-joo, obtained by Assemblyman Cho Jeong-hoon of the Transition Korea Party from the Ministry of Justice, the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office judged that "Yongsan Police Station did not request support from the Riot Police Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on the day of the Itaewon Halloween disaster." Former Chief Song decided to receive support only from the Traffic Police Unit from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and requested support for only one unit of the Traffic Police. The prosecution further stated, "There was no discussion whatsoever about deploying the Riot Police Unit."

The indictment also revealed that Yongsan Police Station focused on crime prevention on the day of the disaster. The prosecution referred to the document titled "Itaewon Halloween Day Security Situation Analysis and Comprehensive Security Measures," prepared by the Yongsan 112 Comprehensive Security Situation Room, stating, "The document specifically analyzed the risk of crowd concentration and resulting accidents, especially the surge in 112 emergency calls on Saturdays. However, the countermeasures focused solely on increasing personnel for crime prevention and crackdowns related to sexual crimes, drugs, and firearms by the women and youth, criminal, community safety, and foreign affairs units, as well as securing vehicle traffic."

The prosecution also pointed out that former Chief Lee was aware that the day would be congested but responded inadequately. According to the investigation, former Chief Lee received a report at around 9:59 a.m. on the day of the disaster that 137 emergency calls had been received near the disaster site the previous day. At 10:35 a.m., he submitted a "Day 1 Situation Report on Yongsan Itaewon Halloween Day" to Kim Kwang-ho, Chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, stating, "A total of 137 calls were received, the highest compared to previous Halloween weekends, but there were no gaps in call handling due to mobilization and deployment of local police personnel and temporary jurisdiction adjustments." The prosecution said, "He himself clearly recognized that the day was the most congested situation."

There was also evidence that former Chief Lee inflated the number of personnel deployed at the Halloween site in a press release. According to the indictment, on October 26, three days before the disaster, former Chief Lee approved a press release titled "Comprehensive Security Measures for a Safe and Orderly Itaewon Halloween Festival." At that time, he instructed to change the draft's phrase "a total of 126 personnel will be deployed at the Itaewon site" to "increase the number to over 200 because 126 seemed too few."

The prosecution also concluded that former Chief Lee's response was inadequate despite the high likelihood that he had prior knowledge of the disaster site situation. They believed that from around 8:30 p.m. on the day of the disaster, after the rally near Samgakji Station ended, former Chief Lee was waiting in his official vehicle and listening to radio communications related to the site. The prosecution stated, "The official vehicle was equipped with four radios, and former Chief Lee habitually checked the volume and operation status of the radios himself when boarding the vehicle. Additionally, the dedicated driver checked the battery levels and prepared spare batteries, so all radios were functioning normally at the time. With just a little attention, he could have fully monitored the radio communications."