A government audit found that, due to the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's transfer of the presidential office to Yongsan, police security personnel were not sufficiently deployed across Itaewon at the time of the Oct. 29 deadly crowd crush in the nightlife district of Itaewon.
The Office for Government Policy Coordination (OPC) released on the 23rd the results of a joint government audit of the Korean National Police Agency, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and the Yongsan District Office conducted from July 23.
The Office for Government Policy Coordination (OPC) said, "Police preparations were clearly insufficient for the foreseeable large crowds," adding, "In this process, the presidential office's Yongsan transfer had an impact."
On the day of the disaster, security personnel were concentrated at the presidential office to manage nearby rallies, but none were deployed across Itaewon. The Office for Government Policy Coordination (OPC) explained that, although the police leadership knew this, they only expressed doubts and did not devise countermeasures.
The Office for Government Policy Coordination (OPC) said, "In fact, after the presidential office's Yongsan transfer, the leadership of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and the Yongsan Police Station prioritized and deployed personnel for security near the presidential office."
Go Jeong-sam, Inspector General of the Korean National Police Agency, said at a briefing, "There were many such rumors at the time, but through this audit it was specifically confirmed in figures."
According to the Office for Government Policy Coordination (OPC), from May 1 to Oct. 30, 2022, there were 921 rallies and demonstrations within the jurisdiction of the Yongsan Police Station, about 27 times the 34 cases during the same period a year earlier. The average number of police riot officers deployed also increased, it said.
There was also criticism that the special internal inspection carried out by police for a year from Nov. 2022 as a follow-up measure to the disaster was inappropriate.
At the time, the special inspection team ended its activities without leaving an official inspection activity report other than referring the case for investigation. Regarding this, the Office for Government Policy Coordination (OPC) pointed out that they failed to hand over properly, effectively allowing those responsible for the disaster to retire upon reaching the mandatory retirement age without disciplinary action.
There was also an assessment that the response by local governments, including the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Yongsan District, was inappropriate.
The Office for Government Policy Coordination (OPC) pointed out, "The initial response by the Yongsan District Office was inadequate, and related regulations were not observed during the disaster recovery process, indicating an overall poor response."
It was found that the initial disaster reporting system did not function, and follow-up measures such as setting up the Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters and operating the On-Site Integrated Support Headquarters were delayed or not carried out at all. As for the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the Office for Government Policy Coordination (OPC) pointed out shortcomings in follow-up measures such as disciplining those responsible for the occurrence of and response to the disaster.
The Yongsan District Office also received notifications from police identifying seven officials for duty-related misconduct, but it was found that none have been disciplined to date.
The Office for Government Policy Coordination (OPC) said, "Through this audit, we plan to demand actions commensurate with responsibility for 62 individuals from the police, the Yongsan District Office, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government who bear responsibility for the disaster response or in whose follow-up processes for disciplining responsible parties misconduct was identified."
Seo Young-seok, public service discipline management director at the OPC, said, "Among those involved, there are people who must bear very heavy responsibility and relatively minor cases of rule violations," adding, "Specific actions will be reviewed by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) and the Korean National Police Agency, and ultimately decided by the disciplinary committee."
The joint audit was conducted after President Lee Jae-myung accepted the request of bereaved families of the deadly crowd crush in the nightlife district of Itaewon at the "Conversation of remembrance, comfort, and healing" event at the State Guest House at Cheong Wa Dae on July 16 to carry out an audit before the disciplinary statute of limitations (three years) expires.
This is the first time an audit of the Yongsan District Office has been conducted since the deadly crowd crush in the nightlife district of Itaewon. The Office for Government Policy Coordination (OPC) said, "We hope this will help, even a little, to address the suspicions of the bereaved families and the public."