Police Officer Requests Bail in 'Itaewon Report Deletion' Case

Park Seong-min, former head of the Public Safety Information and Foreign Affairs Division at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, and Kim Jin-ho, former head of the Intelligence Division at Yongsan Police Station, who are accused of instructing the deletion of reports related to the Itaewon Halloween Festival, have filed for bail in court.

Former Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Public Safety Information and Foreign Affairs Division Chief Park Seong-min is entering the Seoul Western District Court on December 5 last year. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

According to the court on the 2nd, Park, the former division head, and Kim, the former section chief, who were detained and indicted on charges of instructing evidence destruction and damage to official electronic records, submitted a bail application to the Criminal Division 11 of the Seoul Western District Court (Presiding Judge Bae Seong-jung) the day before. The date for the bail hearing has not yet been scheduled.

They are accused of ordering the deletion of intelligence reports anticipating crowds gathering in Itaewon during Halloween Day and carrying out the order. Park is suspected of instructing frontline intelligence chiefs, including Kim, via messenger on November 2 last year to delete intelligence reports warning that crowds might gather in Itaewon on Halloween Day. Kim is also under investigation for ordering his subordinate, Mr. Kwak, to delete reports stored on a work PC.

The deleted reports in question consist of a total of four reports produced by Yongsan Police Station, including an SRI (Special Requirement of Intelligence) report submitted to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. The SRI system involves higher-level intelligence organizations directing frontline police stations to collect data and receive it back in the form of reports. The prosecution believes that Park and Kim conspired to order the deletion of these reports.

Executives of Yongsan District Office, who are suspected of inadequate response to the disaster, have also previously filed for bail and are scheduled for hearings today. The bail hearings for Park Hee-young, Yongsan District Mayor, and Choi Won-jun, former head of the Safety and Disaster Management Division at Yongsan District Office, who were detained and indicted on December 26 last year on charges of professional negligence causing death or injury, falsification and use of false official documents, and dereliction of duty, are expected to be held this morning.