Interior minister, police chief apologize over Itaewon crush

Nov 02, 2022, 08:49 am

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President Yoon Suk-yeol pay tribute to Halloween crowd crush victims during a visit to a mourning space in Seoul’s Itaewon district on Nov. 1, 2022./ Source: Kim Hyun-woo

AsiaToday reporter Lee Kyung-wook

Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min and national police chief Yoon Hee-keun apologized Tuesday over their insufficient response toward the Halloween crowd crush that killed more than 150 people. In particular, the National Police Agency said it would conduct an internal inspection to look thoroughly into what went wrong with the police response. President Yoon Suk-yeol visited a mourning space in Seoul’s Itaewon district Tuesday and paid tribute to Halloween crowd crush victims.

The national police chief apologized for the police’s inadequate response, saying he feels “heavy responsibility”. He admitted that the accident could not be prevented due to poor response at the scene, despite receiving multiple 112 emergency reports alerting the severity of the situation at the scene.

According to Hwang Chang-sun, a senior police officer, the police received multiple 112 emergency calls related to the Halloween festival in Itaewon starting around 6 p.m. on the day of the accident. However, the police did not respond as it was judged to be a ‘general complaint of inconvenience.’ Also, an hour before the accident, there were a number of 112 reports warning of the potential danger and urgency at the scene, but the police did not take any special measures.

In fact, the 112-emergency report transcript released by the police show that those called for urgent rescue named the stores in the alley next to the Hamilton Hotel, the site of the crowd crush, saying, “I’m going to be crushed,” and “Please rescue me quickly.”

“In order to clearly uncover truth and determine responsibility, we will conduct an intensive inspection and investigation into all areas in a swift and thorough manner,” Yoon said.

Furthermore, the police plan to establish an independent special body under the National Police Agency to strictly disclose the truth of the matter.

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