Itaewon Special Committee Requests Investigation into Yongsan Mayor, Former Station Manager

The Special Investigation Committee (SIC) for the October 29 Itaewon disaster has formally requested a criminal investigation into Yongsan District Mayor Park Hee-young and the former Itaewon Station manager, Song Eun-young. This marks the second such request from the committee, following an earlier one concerning the former Yongsan Fire Station chief.

Mayor Park is facing allegations of perjury and abuse of power. According to the SIC's findings, on the day of the tragedy, the head of the Yongsan Police Station's intelligence division asked Park to remove flyers critical of the presidential couple near the Yongsan Presidential Office. Park allegedly instructed on-duty personnel, through his chief secretary, to handle this 'flyer collection task' instead of focusing on disaster response duties. The SIC believes this diversion of personnel contributed to the scale of the disaster.

“

Mayor Park abused his authority out of personal loyalty, hindering the disaster response duties of on-duty personnel.

During a hearing in March, Mayor Park had testified that he merely told his chief secretary to "try making a call" regarding the police's request, denying any direct involvement or discussion of operational matters. However, the SIC presented evidence, including witness testimonies and communication records, indicating that Park had indeed directed on-duty staff to address the flyer issue. SIC interim head Lee Sang-cheol stated that Park abused his authority for personal loyalty, hindering disaster response and later concealing the truth with false testimony.

“

He concealed the truth with false testimony in the hearing, ignoring the public's desire to uncover the truth of the Itaewon disaster.

Regarding the former station manager, Song Eun-young, the SIC believes perjury charges may apply. Song had testified in a hearing that there was no prior consultation with police or merchants about the station's 'no-stop' policy (not allowing trains to stop) on the day of the incident, nor had police requested such a measure. However, the SIC's investigation revealed that prior discussions had occurred, and the police had indeed requested the station not to stop. The SIC concluded that Song likely concealed the truth to avoid responsibility, though they found no new evidence to overturn the previous decision to clear Song of charges related to exacerbating the disaster by not implementing the 'no-stop' measure.

The SIC decided to request an investigation rather than directly indicting the individuals, citing the need for further legal judgment by investigative agencies. This action is in accordance with the Itaewon Disaster Truth and Prevention Act, which allows the committee to request investigations into criminal suspicions.

“

There was no prior consultation with the police or merchants regarding the Itaewon station's no-stop passage, nor was there a request from the police on the day of the incident for such a measure.