South Korea’s police chief stated that their emergency reaction to the Itaewon crush was “inadequate”; this is the first admission from a government official that not enough was done to prevent the tragedy.
Yoon Hee-Keun stated that he felt “unrestricted responsibility for the safety of the people” in light of the mounting calls for accountability.
He promised a thorough probe.
Interior Minister Lee Sang-min also expressed regret for the tragedy that resulted in 156 deaths and 152 injuries.
On Saturday evening, thousands gathered in an alley in Itaewon, a prominent Seoul nightlife neighborhood, to celebrate Halloween without restrictions for the first time since Covid.
Mr. Yoon stated that the police had received multiple calls alerting them to the gravity of the situation before the disaster, but their response was inadequate.
The BBC was informed by Seoul police that the first call to South Korea’s emergency number came in at 18:34 local time – hours before the fatal crush began – followed by ten more calls in the next three and a half hours.
The police response, according to the police chief, was “disappointing.” They would conduct a “rapid and exhaustive review” to see if appropriate action was taken in response to the calls and if cops acted appropriately.
During a meeting of the National Assembly, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min apologized to residents. “As a father of a son and a girl, I find it sad… It is difficult to articulate how unbelievable this scenario is, and it is difficult to accept it “he remarked.
The remarks of Mr. Yoon and Mr. Lee are in response to the growing public demand for accountability. However, some authorities have attempted to portray it as an accident for which no one could be easily blamed.
The police previously stated that they deployed more personnel for this year’s Halloween celebrations than for pre-Covid events.
A congressman pointed out on Tuesday that because there was no party organizer, no particular requests for crowd control and safety management had been given to the police.
Yoo Sang-bum, a member of the ruling People’s Power Party, stated on local radio, “It is difficult to seek legal accountability, as no one was culpable.”
Later, at a briefing for foreign media, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo appeared to repeat this sentiment, stating that it was “impossible to have safety management in advance” for an event without an organizer.
He stated that the administration will only examine the issue of accountability after conducting a comprehensive study into the causes.
President Yoon Suk-yeol stated on Tuesday that the incident highlighted the significance of crowd management and the lack of research on the subject in South Korea.
“Rather than quibbling about whether the event had an organizer or not, it’s the safety of the people that matters, and we need to come up with comprehensive methods,” he added, suggesting the deployment of drones and other digital capabilities to manage crowds at future events.
Even before the incident, President Yoon was facing rising political pressure and falling approval ratings. The police stated that they had to shift part of their resources elsewhere in the city on Saturday night to manage the massive anti-government demonstrations.
