Ex-station chief’s testimony at Itaewon disaster hearing sparks fury from bereaved families

Yongsan District Chief Park Hee-young speaks as a witness at a public hearing organized by the National Commission for the Investigation of the Oct. 29 Itaewon Disaster in central Seoul, Friday. Joint Press Corps

The former Itaewon Station chief said during an investigative hearing Friday that she would still not have ordered trains to skip Itaewon Station on the night of the 2022 Halloween crowd crush, drawing fury from bereaved families who accused her of abetting the disaster that killed 159 people.

On the second day of fact-finding hearings by the National Commission for the Investigation of the Oct. 29 Itaewon Disaster in Seoul, questioning centered on Song Eun-young’s decision not to request trains skip Itaewon Station that night as well as Yongsan District Office’s failure to address illegal structures near the narrow alley where the crowd crush happened.

Asked whether she would make the same choice again under identical circumstances, Song replied, “Yes, that’s right,” prompting strong reactions from families in the audience. Some yelled, “If you stay in the post, people will die again,” and “What have you done for three years?” as the hearing briefly grew chaotic.

Song, who now holds a different post with Seoul Metro, defended her decision by arguing station staff had seen no imminent danger inside the station itself. “The station interior was safe, and we did not know the situation outside, so we did not implement nonstop operations,” she said, adding, “If the platform or station had been dangerous, I would have requested nonstop operations, contacted police and asked to control the exits.”

She insisted she had done “everything possible” within her power to manage passengers inside the station.

Former Itaewon Station chief Song Eun-young cries during a hearing on the Itaewon disaster in Seoul, Friday. Joint Press Corps

However, police said they had contacted her on the night of the disaster to suggest nonstop operations, while several survivors testified that station exits were already overcrowded hours before the crush.

Expert testimony also challenged Song’s stance.

Kwon Soon-jo, a mechanical engineering professor at Pusan National University who conducted computer simulations of the disaster, told the panel that having trains skip Itaewon Station would have “clearly reduced crowd density (that reached) dangerous levels both inside the station and near its exits.” He also disputed Song’s claim that she could focus only on the interior, saying conditions on the platforms themselves were already dangerous.

Bereaved families directly called for criminal accountability.

Shin Jeong-seop, whose daughter died in the crush, accused Song of “protecting herself by treating safety as a matter confined to the station interior” and urged the commission to file a complaint against her on allegations of “murder with willful negligence.”

Bereaved families of Itaewon disaster victims protest during an investigative hearing in Seoul, Friday, in response to the testimony given by Song Eun-young, the former Itaewon Station chief. Joint Press Corps

Another bereaved family member argued that subway operators have long used nonstop train operations during major events, such as World Cup matches, to protect passengers not only inside stations but all the way from the platform to their destinations outside.

The hearing also scrutinized Yongsan District Office’s alleged failure to deal with illegal structures and high-powered speakers that narrowed passageways and amplified crowd risk in the nightlife district.

District head Park Hee-young apologized for having left the hazards in place, saying she “largely agreed” with research suggesting illegal building extensions impeded crowd movement, but added that she had taken office only months before the disaster and did not receive detailed reports on noise issues.

Speakers at the hearing also raised serious concerns about how authorities handled the aftermath of the tragedy, from the recovery of bodies to the treatment of mourning families.

They said the process of locating and identifying victims’ remains lacked transparency, and that families were often left to navigate unfamiliar procedures without adequate guidance or psychological support. Several participants also condemned what they saw as a failure to dignify the dead, noting that “basic respect” at funeral homes and temporary morgues had not been guaranteed.

Experts pointed to a wave of online abuse and conspiracy theories as a second trauma layered on top of their grief. They criticized politicians whose careless remarks about the victims were amplified on social media and then recycled in far‑right communities, fueling what has come to be known in Korea as “secondary victimization.”

Baek Jong-woo, a psychiatrist at Kyung Hee University Hospital, stressed that disasters are “something any of us can experience” and that citizens can suddenly find themselves facing the greatest pain of their lives. He said support in such moments should not be seen as charity but as “a question of justice in our society.”

Calling for what he described as a “social funeral” for the Itaewon tragedy, he argued that Korea cannot overcome the disaster with individual counseling alone, but must instead collectively examine its causes, build better safety systems and comfort victims to “become a better society and truly begin to heal.”

Meanwhile, the commission said it will file a criminal complaint against former President Yoon Suk Yeol for failing to attend the hearing. Commission Chair Song Gi-chun said the panel had asked Seoul Central District Court to reschedule Yoon’s separate criminal trial so he could testify Friday, but Yoon refused to appear despite the adjustment.

Under the Itaewon Disaster Special Act, witnesses who skip a hearing without a valid reason or refuse to testify can face up to three years in prison or fines of up to 30 million won ($20,053).