(LEAD) Police to request probe into Yongsan police chief, Seoul police situation monitoring officer

All News 11:44 November 03, 2022

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details from 3rd para)

SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- The National Police Agency decided to request a probe into the head of the Yongsan Police Station and a situation monitoring officer at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in connection with the bungled police response to the deadly Itaewon crush, officials said Thursday.

The decision came as criticism of police has been mounting following revelations that police did little to prevent the crush even though a total of 11 emergency calls alerting them to overcrowding in Itaewon were filed before the accident.

Further revelations showed that the national police chief learned of the accident nearly two hours after it happened, and an hour and 13 minutes after President Yoon Suk-yeol was informed of the accident.

The National Police Agency will request a special investigation team to investigate Lee Im-jae, the chief of the Yongsan Police Station that polices Itaewon, and Ryu Mi-jin, who was in charge of situation monitoring at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency at the time of the deadly accident, over negligence of duties.

Ryu was accused of neglecting her duties to promptly recognize the emergency situation and report it to the Seoul police chief and to the situation room of the National Police Agency.

Lee also neglected his duties to command police response to the crush by arriving at the site too late and by belatedly reporting the situation to higher levels, the officials said.

The National Police Agency also sidelined Ryu from duty and put her on disciplinary "standby." Lee was given the same disciplinary decision a day earlier.

The tragedy happened Saturday night when a massive crowd of Halloween partygoers packed a narrow 3.2-meter-wide alley in Seoul's entertainment district of Itaewon and left 156 people killed.