Police chief denies responsibility for Itaewon disaster

Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min, left, and Korean National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun take an oath during a parliamentary inspection of their agencies at the Public Administration and Security Committee of the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun was grilled at a National Assembly audit, Thursday, over allegations that he was responsible for the belated emergency response on the night of the Itaewon Halloween crowd disaster last year and that he directed investigations to shift blame away from the police.

He denied instructing the police to conduct investigations with the aim of avoiding responsibility and said that he “does not remember who sent the message” that discussed the issue of blame regarding the disaster, which claimed 159 lives.

The remark was made in response to a question from Rep. Cheon Jun-ho of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).

According to local reports, Yoon was having an unofficial drinking party with police officers at a campsite in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, and responded two hours after the horrific crowd crush had occurred on the night of Oct. 29.

Yoon claimed that he missed two internal reports on the disaster after falling asleep at around 11 p.m. He claimed to have woken up 14 minutes after midnight.

However, local broadcaster KBS reported, Thursday, that the police chief received a total of 11 updates on the situation from police officials but did not reply for over an hour. One of the reports consisted of a link to a news article indicating 100 casualties at that time.

Yoon insisted he received only two reports.

The KBS report also said that Yoon received a Telegram message at around 12:40 a.m. that said “Police must lead prompt investigations and set the narrative at an early stage by blaming someone superior than the district mayor,” to which Yoon gave the green light.

Around 3 a.m., when the number of casualties reported was rising, Yoon sent a message to high-ranking police officers that the measures taken by the police should be reported swiftly to the president, because some organization “might have to be held responsible” with so many casualties, according to the report.

Rep. Cheon also asked, citing the local report, whether the police chief “discussed ways to avoid responsibility during those time-sensitive moments of the emergency” and demanded that he reveal the sender’s identity.

Yoon argued that “the messages can no longer be found on Telegram” and claimed that he couldn't remember who sent the message.

“Many people have offered me diverse opinions and advice ever since I became the police chief,” he said, while clearly denying a question whether the sender was President Yoon Suk Yeol, an official from the presidential office or Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min.

Yoon also denied that his forgetfulness was due to being drunk.

“Reflecting upon one year ago, I sincerely feel sorry and remorseful myself. No words can justify how sorry I feel for the bereaved families and victims,” he said.