Yongsan-gu Requests Police Deployment for Protesters' Obstruction of Officials

Yongsan-gu, at 9:32 AM on the 14th, determined that the protest obstructed official duties and requested police deployment from Yongsan Police Station

Excerpt from Yongsan District Office video footage (Provided by Yongsan District Office)

Yongsan-gu (District Mayor Park Hee-young) announced that at around 9:32 AM on the 14th, the assembly and protest seriously obstructed official duties, prompting a telephone request for police deployment to Yongsan Police Station.

Bereaved families of the Itaewon tragedy, civic groups, and others began a fierce protest at the district office to express their opposition after Mayor Park Hee-young declared that normal work would proceed from that day.

Accordingly, the district determined that official duties within the district office were being seriously obstructed and requested police support to maintain public order.

Yongsan-gu stated that it sent an official letter titled "Request for Protection of Government Building Facilities" to the Security Division of Seoul Yongsan Police Station on the same day.

The district explained, "Due to concerns for the safety of the bereaved families, obstruction of official duties, and inconvenience to visitors caused by the protest, police support was requested by phone on that day."

The district reported that on the 8th, about 20 people including civic groups, bereaved family associations, and YouTubers damaged the upper part of the glass door on the 9th floor of the government building, the security door, and the access control device.

Additionally, after three bereaved family members visited on the 13th, they staged a sit-in in front of the 9th-floor security door, entered the policy meeting room to disrupt an executive meeting, attempted to damage the 9th-floor security door, and obstructed official duties.

Therefore, the district explained that from the 14th, access to the 9th floor was unavoidably restricted to ensure smooth official work.

On the same day, the 119 rescue team dispatched to the 8th floor of the district office checked the health status of the bereaved families, found the fire door on the 9th-floor stairs damaged, and after entering the 11th-floor rooftop, damaged the fire door with fire extinguishers. After being unable to stop them, about 30 people including bereaved families, civic groups, and YouTubers were reported to be damaging the stairway door and confronting authorities.