Yoon under pressure to sack interior minister, police chief over Itaewon disaster

Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Dae-ki answers lawmakers' questions during a National Assembly audit of the presidential office at the Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

Special investigators raid 55 locations, including police chief's office

By Nam Hyun-woo

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) ratcheted up pressure on the presidential office during a National Assembly audit of the office, Tuesday, to replace Cabinet members, including the interior and safety minister, and ranking police officers for their inadequate response to the Itaewon crowd crush.

However, presidential Chief of Staff Kim Dae-ki responded by saying that removing those officials at the moment will not be helpful, reiterating that the people who are responsible will be replaced once an ongoing investigation into the tragedy is completed.

When asked by DPK lawmaker Choi Ki-sang how the police can investigate its commissioner general and station chiefs over the incident while they are in power, Kim said, "We should hold someone responsible after finding the cause. Replacing them is not an urgent issue."

Kim also referred to the 2014 ferry disaster which killed 304 passengers. "When you recall the Sewol ferry sinking, the oceans minister at the time resigned from the post eight months after the incident to address the aftermath," he said.

A special police investigation team has been conducting a sweeping internal inspection to find whether its chiefs had responded properly to the incident. The team on Tuesday raided the offices of National Police Agency (NPA) Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun and Seoul Metropolitan Police chief Kim Kwang-ho.

Police officers move boxes at the Seoul Metropolitan Police building in Jongno District, Seoul, Tuesday, when a special investigation team raided the regional police headquarters over the Itaewon crowd crush. Yonhap

The presidential chief of staff's comments came as Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Safety Minister Lee Sang-min and the NPA commissioner general face mounting criticism over their response to the Itaewon crowd crush, which killed 156 people enjoying Halloween festivities on Oct. 29.

A day earlier, President Yoon Suk-yeol lambasted the police during a closed-door meeting attended by the interior and safety minister and NPA commissioner general, saying the responsibility of the police is to prevent disasters from happening. However, the president stopped short of saying he would replace any of them.

"During the Seongsu Bridge collapse, the country could immediately replace ministers because there was no confirmation hearing process. But when we try to replace the minister and commissioner general now, it will end up creating an administrative vacuum," Kim said.

He was talking about the DPK's earlier reference to former Prime Minister Lee Yung-dug, who tendered his resignation to then-President Kim Young-sam hours after the bridge collapsed on Oct. 21, 1994 and killed 32 people. His resignation was not immediately accepted, but the president at the time replaced then-Seoul Mayor Lee Won-jong on the same day of the incident, holding him accountable for the tragedy. Back then, the Seoul mayor was not an elected official.

Korea began to hold confirmation hearings on prime ministers in 2000, and the mandatory hearing process was expanded to police commissioner general in 2003 and to all ministers in 2005.

Kim also said there is no Cabinet member, police commissioner or presidential secretary who offered their resignation to take responsibility for the Itaewon crowd crush. He added that he has not advised the president to replace Cabinet members.

National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun attends a meeting of the National Assembly Special Committee on Budget and Accounts at the Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

Throughout the audit session, the DPK strengthened its offensive on the Yoon administration over the Itaewon crowd crush.

"President Yoon was apologetic yesterday, but did not mention his responsibility. Instead, he said he will make those who are accountable take responsibility," DPK Rep. Lee Dong-ju said. "This means that he feels sorry about the incident, but thinks it is not his fault."

Lee added that the president is politically accountable for the incident, citing Yoon's earlier orders to the police to focus on cracking down on drugs.

"If the president speaks about safety, ministers will talk about safety and the police will stress safety," Lee said. "As Yoon saw the crowd as the target of a crackdown, and not citizens he has to protect, the entire system could do nothing about the incident. This is the president's responsibility," he added.

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) also criticized the police for their response, but distanced the Yoon administration from responsibility.

"If the police's emergency call centers were functioning properly, such a huge accident could have been prevented," PPP Rep. Jeon Bong-min said. "We should look into the responsibility of the Yongsan Police Station chief and Seoul Metropolitan Police's officer in charge of monitoring (emergencies)."

Meanwhile, the audit turned into chaos after photographs taken by EDAILY newspaper captured senior presidential secretary for public relations Kim Eun-hye scribbling the words "this is really ridiculous" on a memo pad held by senior presidential secretary for civil and social agenda Kang Seung-kyu. The public relations secretary quickly crossed out the message while a DPK lawmaker was asking questions.

Kim and Kang apologized and explained that they were not referring to the opposition party's questions, but DPK lawmakers demanded them to leave the audit session and said, "This shows how the presidential office sees the Itaewon tragedy."