Itaewon Committee Requests Reinvestigation of Former Yongsan Fire Chief Choi Seongbeom and Others

"Insufficient On-site Command, Such as Lack of Preventive Measures"
Investigation Requested for Fire Department Commanders Previously Not Indicted
Charged with Dereliction of Duty and Occupational Negligence Resulting in Death or Injury

The Special Investigation Committee for the Truth-finding and Prevention of Recurrence of the October 29 Itaewon Disaster (the Committee) has decided to request a reinvestigation into the fire department officials involved in the crowd crush incident that occurred in Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul during Halloween in 2022.

At its 47th meeting held on January 27 at the committee room in Jung-gu, Seoul, the Committee resolved to request an investigation into former Yongsan Fire Station Chief Choi Seongbeom and then on-site command team leader Lee Bonghak. Both had previously been investigated on charges of involuntary manslaughter but were not indicted in January 2024; now, the Committee has decided to refer the case for investigation once again.

Song Ki-chun, chairman of the Special Investigation Committee for the Truth-finding and Prevention of Recurrence of the October 29 Itaewon Disaster, is speaking at the 47th meeting held on the 27th at the committee room in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Oh Ji-eun

Song Ki-chun, chairman of the Committee, held a press briefing immediately after the closed-door meeting, stating, "We believe a criminal judgment is necessary as to whether they properly fulfilled their duties that were required in a disaster situation." The charges against both former Chief Choi and former Team Leader Lee are occupational negligence resulting in death or injury and dereliction of duty.

The Committee explained that, in addition to the previous records from the prosecution and police investigations, it conducted a comprehensive analysis of new evidence obtained through its own authority, including radio transcripts, situation logs, CCTV footage, and expert opinions. The Committee also said it met with former Chief Choi twice for extended interviews. The Committee concluded that, despite the anticipation of large crowds on the day of the disaster, appropriate measures were not taken during the stages of prevention and risk assessment.

The Committee also presented a different opinion from the previous prosecution’s findings regarding the timing of the activation of the Emergency Rescue Control Headquarters, which is mobilized during large-scale disasters. Chairman Song stated, "It was confirmed that the Emergency Rescue Control Headquarters was not activated in a timely manner, raising the possibility that an integrated command and cooperation system among related agencies did not function properly." He added, "We determined that the claim that the Emergency Rescue Control Headquarters is automatically linked at the time of the fire department's first-level emergency response is not consistent with the facts."

The Committee plans to visit the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office at 2 p.m. today to submit the investigation request to the joint prosecution-police investigation team.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.