Park Hee-young, Yongsan District Mayor, Released on Bail... Returning to Work Soon

Seoul Western District Court Criminal Division 11, on the 7th, grants bail requests for Park Hee-young, Yongsan District Mayor, and Choi Won-jun, former Safety and Disaster Prevention Director

After Park's detention, Kim Seon-su served as acting district mayor for 5 months... Park expected to resume normal duties soon

Park Hee-young, Yongsan District Mayor, who was detained and indicted on charges including inadequate response to the 'Itaewon disaster,' will be released on bail on the 7th.

Park will return to his position as district mayor starting that day.

However, it is expected that he will take some time off to recover from the mental strain caused by his detention before resuming work.

Also, Choi Won-jun, former Safety and Disaster Prevention Director of Yongsan District Office, who was detained along with Park, will be released.

The Seoul Western District Court Criminal Division 11 (Presiding Judge Bae Seong-jung) approved the bail requests for Park and former Director Choi on that day.

The court set conditions for bail including submission of a written pledge, residence restrictions, and payment of a bail bond. Earlier, on the 2nd, they had applied for bail, arguing there was no risk of evidence tampering or flight.

Park is accused of failing to establish and implement an effective safety management plan for the Itaewon area during the Halloween festival period, as the local government head and responsible department chief primarily accountable for disaster and safety matters. He is also charged with not properly operating the permanent disaster safety situation room and failing to establish a proper cooperation system with related agencies such as the police and fire departments.

Former Director Choi is accused of being aware of the disaster occurrence around 11:25 p.m. on the day of the incident but drinking alcohol and going home, failing to perform his duties as Safety and Disaster Prevention Director, including disaster recovery, until 7:30 a.m. the following day.

Accordingly, the 5-month acting mayor system under Kim Seon-su will conclude on this day. Kim, who served as acting mayor during Park’s detention, is known to have quietly handled administrative tasks.