What did you learn from the investigation into the Itaewon disaster?

The police special investigation headquarters (special edition) that investigated the Itaewon disaster announced the results of its investigation and virtually disbanded 76 days after the accident occurred.

Son Je-won, head of the special investigation headquarters for the Itaewon accident, said at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Mapo building on the 13th, “According to the law of co-principle of negligent criminals, 24 people, including the police, ward office, fire department, and Seoul Transportation Corporation, who are responsible for this accident, are accused of manslaughter due to legal negligence , and among them, 6 people, including the former Yongsan Police Department chief and the Yongsan-gu chief, were arrested and sent without detention, and 17 people, including the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency chief and the Yongsan fire station chief, were sent without detention.”

The reason for applying the principle of co-principal of a negligent criminal is that although each institution had a ‘common goal’ of preparing for the Itaewon Halloween Day accident and a ‘doctor contact’ for this purpose, the accident occurred due to overlapping negligence in not fulfilling their respective duties properly. explained that it was because

On October 29, 158 people died and 196 were injured at the Itaewon World Food Street in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. It was considered one of the worst safety accidents in the country because there were so many casualties.

In order to investigate the cause of the accident and clarify the truth, a large-scale special edition was launched on November 1, three days after the incident, with 514 people (121 direct investigators).

For the investigation of the case, the special edition secured CCTVs, social media, media reports, videos, etc. around the site, analyzed 140,000 seized items obtained by seizure and search of government agencies, local governments, and transportation corporations, and investigated 538 people involved in the case. . In addition, similar cases were analyzed at home and abroad, joint forensic inspections were conducted with the National Scientific Investigation Service, and experts were consulted to determine not only the cause of the accident, but also whether the person involved was subject to judicial action.

We have summarized some of the important information released in the 74 days since the special edition was launched.

At the time of the accident, there were 6 to 10 people standing per 1 square meter (0.3 pyeong) at the site, and as a result, an average force of about 224 to 560 kg was received.

As a result of CCTV analysis, at around 10:25 pm in the alley of the accident, 10.7 people per square meter, the highest, were standing. Around 9 p.m., up to 12.09 people gathered at the nearby World Food Street.

As the crowd density increased, a phenomenon of ‘crowd fluidization’, which made it difficult to move at will, occurred. The fatalities occurred as people were under severe pressure about 10 meters from the point of the fall. The specific cause of death was compression asphyxiation, airway obstruction asphyxia, and cerebral edema (hypoxic brain injury).

Earlier, Baek Seung-joo, a professor of fire and disaster prevention at Open Cyber ​​University, also told BBC Korea that at the time of the Itaewon accident, the number of people per square meter seemed to be close to 10. The professor explained, “The limit is 5 people per 1 square meter.”

The special version sent 23 people who were believed to be responsible for the Itaewon accident to the police. Most of them were public officials belonging to the police and Yongsan-gu Office, and firefighting and transportation officials and Itaewon store owners were also included.

Six people, including former Yongsan Police Station Chief Lee Im-jae, Yongsan-gu Office Chief Park Hee-young, Yongsan Police Station 112 Situation Chief, Yongsan-gu Office Safety and Disaster Division Chief, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Information Division Chief, and Yongsan Police Station Information Division Chief, were arrested on charges of negligent manslaughter on duty. have been sent

The Yongsan Police Chief judged that even though it was predictable that Halloween crowds would gather in Itaewon, proper precautions were not taken and 112 calls were not properly responded to. He also saw that he was also accused of creating false official documents by manipulating the time of arrival at the site.

It is judged that the head of Yongsan-gu also lacked preventive measures such as establishing a safety management plan and organizing and training a disaster response organization, and did not respond appropriately, such as dissemination of a disaster situation after an accident, to increase the damage.

If the police find that there is a criminal charge as a result of the investigation, they forward the case to the prosecution. If the prosecutor files a public prosecution (prosecution) on the case that has been forwarded, the investigation ends and the trial begins.

17 people, including Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner Kim Gwang-ho, Yongsan Fire Station Chief Choi Seong-beom, and Itaewon Station Manager, were admitted to the charges but handed over to the prosecution without detention.

In addition, the CEO of Hamilton Tourism, the operator of the Hamilton Hotel located in the area where the accident occurred, and the representative of a certain bar were also sent without detention for violating building and road laws.

The special edition did not find any charges against higher authorities such as the Ministry of Public Administration and Security and the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

The special edition saw that the Ministry of Public Administration and Security and Seoul City did not have a specific duty to pay attention to the risk of multiple gatherings in a specific area under the Disaster and Safety Act. In the case of the National Police Agency, after the implementation of the autonomous police system, the law stipulates that the safety management of multiple gathering events is to be supervised by the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency under the direction and supervision of the autonomous police committee. However, although the Autonomous Police Commission has the authority to command and supervise the affairs, it was considered that it was not responsible because it was premised on reporting to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

As a result, Minister of Public Administration and Security Lee Sang-min, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, and National Police Agency Commissioner Yoon Hee-geun were excluded from being sent to the prosecution.

As a result of the special investigation, the so-called ‘top line’ is freed from responsibility for the accident, and fierce criticism of ‘cutting the tail’ is being raised, centering on the bereaved families.

The fire service branch of the National Public Officials Union of the Republic of Korea, which previously accused Minister Lee, impeached the minister, saying in a statement that day, “The announcement of the investigation of the special edition is an act that gave impunity to those in power and sentenced the people of the Republic of Korea to death.” They urged the government to come up with a bill that would make it compulsory to investigate the person in charge in the event of a disaster, regardless of whether they were responsible or not.

After the Itaewon accident, there were posts on the Internet that speculated about the person who caused the accident, but the special editions were all considered to have nothing to do with the accident.

The special edition investigated the suspicion that the accident occurred by pushing people or spraying slippery substances on the floor, or that a store near the place of the accident locked the door and controlled access to prevent people from entering, but it was not directly related to the cause of the accident. It was judged that there was no case, and the investigation was closed before all were booked.

Not all investigations end with special investigations.

The special edition will be disbanded in stages after this day, but the prosecution is planning to conduct a supplementary investigation.

Opposition parties are arguing that an investigation should be conducted through a special prosecutor recommended by the National Assembly following the government investigation.