Top officials give apologies for tragedy in Itaewon

Politics

Published: 01 Nov. 2022, 17:59 Updated: 01 Nov. 2022, 19:50

Top officials give apologies for tragedy in Itaewon

Yoon Hee-keun, commissioner general of the National Police Agency, apologizes for the deadly crowd crush in Itaewon in a press conference in the police headquarters in Seodaemun District, central Seoul, Tuesday. [YONHAP]

As public demands grow for someone to take responsibility for the deadly crowd crush in Itaewon, apologies were offered by Korea's police chief, the interior minister, Seoul's mayor and the Yongsan District Office head Tuesday.

Yoon Hee-keun, commissioner general of the National Police Agency, admitted that there had been warnings of an impending tragedy and conceded that police response may have been "insufficient."

"I feel heavy responsibility for the people who must be in great shock," said Yoon, who bowed his head in his first public apology for the tragedy in a press briefing Tuesday morning at police headquarters in Seodaemun District, central Seoul.

He confirmed there were multiple calls to the 112 police hotline from people raising concerns about the "severity of the situation" in the area right before the crush and acknowledged shortcomings in the police response.

An independent investigation team within the National Police Agency will review the bugled police response, said Yoon, to "reveal the truth of the matter in a transparent and strict manner.

"In order to clearly uncover the truth and determine responsibility, we will conduct an intensive investigation into all areas in a swift and thorough manner," said Yoon. "I will do my best to prevent such a tragic incident from happening again in the future."

The death toll from the Itaewon crowd crush rose to 156, including 26 foreigners, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, as of Tuesday afternoon. There are 29 people with serious injuries and 122 more with minor injuries.

Of the dead, 104 were people in their 20s. There were 101 female and 55 male deaths.

Witnesses immediately pointed to a lack of crowd control in the area.

Because there was no organizer of the Halloween celebrations in Itaewon who might have arranged crowd control, a blame game has begun over who should be held responsible.

"We will also investigate the adequacy of the overall on-site response, including the handling of the 112 reports, and whether the actions of officers at each level were appropriate," said police chief Yoon.

There were 137 police officers dispatched to the scene, said Yoon, a higher number than in years before the pandemic.

Responding to questions about whether the police can be trusted to probe their own bungled response, Yoon said that is why the independent investigation is being conducted by the National Police Agency rather than the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. Seoul's Yongsan Police Precinct has jurisdiction over the Itaewon area.

Also on Tuesday, the National Police Agency launched an investigation into the Yongsan Police Precinct.

When asked by a reporter if he was prepared to take responsibility for the disaster, Yoon replied that it is more important to figure out what happened and prepare future measures right now.

"After the results come out, I will take responsibility accordingly at any time," he added.

Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min bows his head and apologizes for the Itaewon disaster at a National Assembly session in Yeouido, western Seoul, Tuesday. [NEWS1]

Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min has been drawing criticism from both the Democratic Party (DP) and People Power Party (PPP) for remarks downplaying the foreseeable nature of the tragedy.

On Sunday, Lee told reporters that the post-pandemic crowd in Itaewon had not been "particularly concerning" and that the disaster "was not a problem that could be solved by dispatching police or emergency response personnel in advance."

This ran contrary to President Yoon Suk-yeol's order Sunday for public officials to "take unlimited responsibility for the safety of the people."

"The state holds unlimited responsibility for the safety of the people," said Lee at a National Assembly briefing on the Itaewon tragedy Tuesday afternoon, apparently backpedaling from his earlier comments. "I would like to take this opportunity to offer a sincere apology to the public as the minister responsible for the safety of the people for this accident."

Acknowledging his recent gaffe, Lee said, "I know that quite a few people have been hurt by what I said during a recent press briefing.

"As a Cabinet member and as a father, this accident is very devastating and regrettable," he added.

Nam Hwa-yeong, acting commissioner general of the National Fire Agency, also attended the parliamentary session with Lee. He apologized for the high number of casualties.

"There were a high number of casualties from the beginning but a complete shortage of emergency responders and paramedics, which made on-site response difficult," said Nam. "We did our best to save lives, but I apologize for the number of casualties."

Park Hee-young, head of the Yongsan District Office, also gave an apology for the first time since the incident through a statement Tuesday.

"I am very sorry to the residents of Yongsan District and the people for the tragic accident that occurred in the district I am head of," said Park.

He promised that he will "mobilize all administration power to rectify the situation" and that the district office will "thoroughly check whether there were any deficiencies in prior preparations and establish detailed countermeasures in the future."

In his first statement after the tragedy issued on Sunday evening, Park only offered "deepest condolences" to the victims and their family.

Park also received flak for deleting his social media accounts including his YouTube channel after the incident.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon sheds tears as he apologizes in a press conference at City Hall Tuesday afternoon. [YONHAP]

Later Tuesday afternoon, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon also offered his "deepest apologies" in a tearful press conference and said he feels "unlimited responsibility."

He said that funeral procedures for all the victims in Seoul have been completed and promised continued support for their families.

On Tuesday morning, DP floor leader Park Hong-keun called on the government to take full responsibility for the Itaewon disaster.

"Inappropriate remarks by government officials who should be responsible for managing this tragedy are raising public ire," said Park in a meeting of the DP floor leadership. "If the central government, related ministers and the heads of local governments who should take unlimited responsibility for the safety of citizens fail to prevent a major disaster in advance, the government should at least handle recovery efforts with responsibility."

DP Chairman Lee said, "We agreed to defer talking about accountability and gave the government plenty of time to focus on recovery efforts, but government officials including the president, prime minister, minister, [Yongsan District Office] chief and [Seoul] mayor are all claiming they are not responsible."

PPP floor leader Joo Ho-young said Tuesday that it is important to abstain from political strife and put off discussing the issue of responsibility until after the national mourning period, which ends runs through Saturday.

However, in reference to Minister Lee's remarks Sunday, Joo told reporters, "I don't think they were appropriate."

The government has said that under current law, there are no guidelines to control crowds when there is no single event organizer, as in the case of the Itaewon Halloween celebrations.

Starting Thursday, the government will conduct a joint review of each local festival expected to draw large crowds as a safety precaution.

In a Cabinet meeting at the Yongsan presidential office Tuesday, Yoon ordered the strengthening of safety prevention measures and stressed that ministers should feel "heavy responsibility."

Yoon called for a crowd management system that can be applied to events without an organizer, according a presidential spokesman.

During the meeting, Yoon also expressed thanks to foreign leaders who sent condolences, including U.S. President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Later that day, Yoon visited a mourning altar for the dead victims for the second day in a row.

After paying respects at Seoul Plaza Monday, Yoon visited a mourning altar near Noksapyeong Station, near the site of the accident, Tuesday morning.

"My sadness and grief are beyond control," Yoon wrote in the guest book. "I will do my best to prevent such a tragedy from happening again."

Thousands of people have been flocking to mourning altars in 17 cities and provinces since Monday.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]