Itaewon tragedy hearing turns emotional as survivor recounts horror, police trade blame

Families of victims of the 2022 Itaewon tragedy break into tears during an investigative hearing of the National Commission for the Investigation of the Oct. 29 Itaewon Disaster in Seoul, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

The long-awaited public inquiry in the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush opened Thursday with tearful testimony from survivors and heated exchanges between police officials accused of mishandling emergency calls on the night of the disaster.

The hearing came more than three years after the 2022 tragedy, following prolonged political gridlock, disputes over accountability and repeated delays in forming an independent investigative body.

The National Commission for the Investigation of the Oct. 29 Itaewon Disaster, the special fact-finding group investigating the tragedy, began the first of two days of hearings in central Seoul. The session drew bereaved families and witnesses whose testimonies shed new light on a chain of failures preceding the crowd surge, resulting in the deaths of 159 people during Halloween celebrations.

Tears filled the hall as Min Seung-ho, a survivor of the events, recounted the moments before the crowd crush in a narrow alley in Itaewon turned fatal.

“From 10 to 11 p.m., there were at least three big pushes,” Min recalled. “No one was intentionally shoving, but people’s weight piled up and a small force suddenly moved all at once.”

“Rescue teams came far too late,” Min said, criticizing the slow emergency response. “If they had arrived even 10 minutes earlier, around 100 lives could have been saved.”

Police officials from the Itaewon precinct, Yongsan Police Station and Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency repeatedly attempted to shift blame for why officers failed to respond to 11 emergency calls warning of dangerous overcrowding.

Between 6:34 p.m. and 10:11 p.m. that night, Itaewon police received 11 distress reports about dangerous levels of overcrowding, but did not dispatch patrols or contact other authorities for crowd control support.

An attending officer from the precinct, speaking under the condition of anonymity, said, “Those 11 calls were appeals to the organization, not to the precinct alone. Crowd control is something that should be planned in advance.” The officer also claimed the primary responsibility lay with the Seoul Metropolitan Police control room.

Kim Hyun-kwon, then head of the Seoul police’s 112 situation room, argued that the lack of on-site reporting hindered their awareness. “If the field fails to report, we have no way of knowing what’s happening,” he testified, calling it “a systemic failure.”

Bereaved families express anger during former Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Security Division Chief Yoon Si-seung’s remarks during a hearing on the Itaewon disaster in Seoul, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Members of the commission pressed police about reports that falsely stated units had been dispatched to the scene, despite evidence showing they had not. The commission also examined the apparent shortage of officers in the area due to personnel being diverted to guard the presidential office after its 2022 relocation from Cheong Wa Dae to Yongsan.

Former Yongsan Police Chief Lee Im-jae admitted the imbalance. “Too many forces were concentrated around the presidential office,” he said. “If it hadn’t moved to Yongsan, the tragedy might not have happened.” Commission members said that after the relocation, Yongsan police officers’ working hours increased by more than 25 hours per week, and manpower requests were only partially approved.

Tensions escalated further when Kim Kwang-ho, former Seoul police commissioner, refused to make a statement under oath after submitting a written statement invoking his right to remain silent.

“I have submitted my document,” Kim said when asked to explain.

Commission chair Song Gi-chun said the group will file a complaint against Kim. Under the Itaewon Disaster Investigation Act, witnesses who refuse to take the oath without a valid reason may face up to three years in prison or fines of up to 30 million won. Family members of the deceased victims shouted from their seats, demanding Kim take the oath.

Lee Sang-min, who was minister of the interior and safety during the Itaewon disaster, faced intense questioning over what the commission called a leadership vacuum in the crucial early hours.

Bereaved families of victims of 2022 Itaewon disaster hold placards demanding truth and apology from former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min behind him during an investigative hearing in Seoul, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Lee said at the hearing that the tragedy had convinced him “the most important lesson is that we must raise public awareness of safety culture nationwide,” when asked whether repeated large-scale disasters stem from "structural problems" at his ministry and other agencies.

He defended the ministry’s responsiveness, even as the commission said the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, which the ministry claims was activated at 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 30, 2022, did not begin operating in practice until around 9 a.m. The ministry spent hours on internal discussion over wording to be used for describing the incident, such as avoiding “disaster” and "victim" and using “accident” and "dead" instead.

Lee also acknowledged he did not immediately order the headquarters to be formed after visiting the scene at 12:45 a.m., saying, “When I arrived, the scene was quiet without any particular activity,” and that there was “no urgent task that required the headquarters’ involvement.”

The commission also named former President Yoon Suk Yeol to testify, but Yoon refused to appear, citing the need to prepare for his own trial. The group urged Yoon to attend the hearing on Friday to explain how he responded as president at the time of the disaster and to clarify his position to the bereaved families.

The hearing, which continues through Friday, will question a total of 77 people.