Government Announces Results of Itaewon Tragedy Joint Audit on the 23rd
Why Was There No Police Presence in Itaewon on the Day of the Tragedy?
Police Focused on Managing Rallies Near Presidential Office in Yongsan
Eleven Emergency Calls Warning o
An investigation has found that on the day of the Itaewon disaster in 2022, the police did not deploy security personnel in the Itaewon area because they were managing rallies near the presidential office. The police did not establish a separate crowd control plan, and the disaster response system of the local government also failed to operate. The government has decided to demand disciplinary action and other measures against 62 officials responsible for the incident.
"Police Preparedness Clearly Insufficient, Relocation of Presidential Office Had an Impact"
On the 1st, a press conference was held at Gwanghwamun Square on Sejong-daero, Seoul, hosted by the Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families Association, to announce the "Month of Remembrance and Mourning" for the 3rd anniversary of the Itaewon Disaster. Photo by Yonhap News Agency
Kim Youngsoo, First Deputy Minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, announced the results of the "Joint Audit of the October 29 Itaewon Disaster" at the Government Complex Seoul on the 23rd. This audit began after the bereaved families of social disasters requested disciplinary action against those responsible from President Lee Jaemyung on July 16. The government formed a joint audit task force (TF) on July 23 and conducted audits of the National Police Agency, Seoul Metropolitan Government, and Yongsan District Office.
According to the TF's investigation, the National Police Agency concentrated security personnel on managing rallies near the presidential office on the day of the disaster, but did not deploy any security personnel in the Itaewon area itself. The TF pointed out that the relocation of the presidential office to Yongsan led to a significant increase in demand for rally management security, and the leadership of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and Yongsan Police Station prioritized security for the presidential office when allocating personnel.
The government stated, "The police's advance preparations for the anticipated large crowds were clearly insufficient," and added, "The relocation of the presidential office to Yongsan had an impact during this process."
At the time, three days before the disaster, the head of the intelligence division at Yongsan Police Station was advised by a staff member to deploy intelligence officers on Halloween, but dismissed the suggestion, instructing them to focus on rally management instead. Both the chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and the chief of Yongsan Police Station received reports on the Halloween security plan in advance, but did not issue any additional instructions to address the omission of crowd control. Notably, the "Itaewon Crowd Management Security Plan," which had been prepared in 2020 and 2021, was not created in 2022.
Even when emergency calls to 112 warned of the risk of a crowd crush, the police either overlooked or mishandled them. Before the disaster began at 10:15 p.m., the Itaewon Police Box received 11 emergency calls about the risk of a crowd crush and was ordered to respond. However, the police box dispatched officers to the scene only once, and for the remaining 10 cases, they falsely entered information into the system as if action had been taken after dispatching officers.
On the Day of the Itaewon Disaster, Situation Room Staff Were Removing Flyers from a Wall
President Lee Jae-myung is greeting the bereaved families of the October 29 Itaewon tragedy at the 'Dialogue of Memory, Consolation, and Healing' social disaster victims' family meeting held on the 16th at the Blue House State Guest House. Photo by Yonhap News
Meanwhile, the TF criticized the failure of the local government's initial disaster reporting system. On the day of the disaster, two out of five staff members assigned to the Yongsan District Office's situation room were removing flyers from a wall near the War Memorial of Korea. One of them was the disaster management officer. The staff member remaining in the situation room received phone calls about the crowd crush accident but did not take any action, and only began reporting after the Ministry of the Interior and Safety issued an accident alert message.
The TF also pointed out problems with audits and disciplinary actions conducted by the previous administration. In the case of the police special inspection, no official inspection report was filed except for the referral of eight people, including the chief of Yongsan Police Station, for investigation. Although follow-up measures should have been taken, it was confirmed that those responsible for the disaster retired without disciplinary action. In the case of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the request for disciplinary measures from Yongsan District Office was put on hold based solely on an internal report.
The government plans to demand appropriate action against 62 officials from the police, Yongsan District Office, and Seoul Metropolitan Government who were responsible for the disaster response or were found to have committed misconduct during subsequent disciplinary or follow-up procedures. As a result of these measures, 51 officials from the National Police Agency and 11 from the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Yongsan District Office will be subject to disciplinary action. However, those who have already retired or have previously received disciplinary action are excluded from these measures.
The government stated, "By forming a task force to investigate the facts and take necessary measures in response to the issues raised by the bereaved families of the Itaewon disaster, we hope that this will help to resolve some of the doubts and concerns of the bereaved families and the public."
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