How emergency communication system failed in Itaewon disaster

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Thu, November 30, 2023 | 11:03

Society

How emergency communication system failed in Itaewon disaster

Posted : 2022-11-06 17:10

Updated : 2022-11-07 15:30

Police officers inspect the scene of the deadly crowd crush in Itaewon, Seoul, Oct. 30. Yonhap

By Lee Hyo-jin

While an intensive investigation of the massive crowd crush in Itaewon is underway, communication failures between the government's emergency-related agencies are being pointed to as one of the major reasons behind the government's inadequate response to the disaster.

At least 156 people were killed and nearly 200 were injured in the crowd crush that occurred during the Halloween festivities in Itaewon, Yongsan District in Seoul, on the night of Oct. 29.

In a recent briefing, the Ministry of Interior and Safety admitted that the government's communication network did not work properly during the crowd disaster. Dubbed "Korea safe net," the system was launched in 2021 after it was drawn up in the wake of the Sewol ferry sinking in 2014, which killed 304 people.

A total of 1.5 trillion won ($1.06 billion) was allocated to setting up the single network which enables real-time communication between eight disaster-related agencies, including the police, fire department, military and other government bodies, with the aim of coordinating a swift response among the agencies to accidents and disasters.

"Technically, every agency included in the network can make a phone call by pushing a button, but the system wasn't utilized well this time," said Kim Seong-ho, a senior official at the interior ministry.

The first calls from the public to the 112 emergency call center asking the police to control the crowd in Itaewon started coming in at 6:34 p.m., amounting eventually to 11 in total.

The first emergency call reporting that people were dying in the crowd crush was placed to 119 at 10:15 p.m. A full 86 minutes after that call, the first call was made via the inter-government agency communication network at 11:41 p.m.

"It is regretful that such an efficient system wasn't effectively utilized at the time of the disaster. There should be investigations into this," said Bang Moon-kyu, minister for government policy coordination.

Where were the senior police officers?

From left are National Police Agency Commissioner Yoon Hee-keun, Lee Im-jae, former head of Yongsan Police Station, and Superintendent Ryu Mi-jin of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. Lee and Ryu have been temporarily removed from their posts due to their poor response to the crowd crush. Courtesy of National Police Agency

With criticism over law enforcement's bungled response mounting, the whereabouts of senior police officers at the time of the incident have come under scrutiny.

The National Fire Agency claimed that the police did not provide sufficient support in handling the emergency situation despite the fire agency's over dozen calls for cooperation, with the first ones made at 10:18 p.m.

The fire agency made 15 calls to the National Police Agency, Seoul Metropolitan Police Station and Yongsan Police Station, asking for more officers to be deployed in Itaewon. But the law enforcement authorities did not respond promptly.

NPA Commissioner Yoon Hee-keun, who was not on duty that day, was at a camping site Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, about 120 kilometers from Seoul. After falling asleep around 11 p.m., Yoon was out of contact until after midnight. An officer at the agency's emergency situation room sent a text message to him at 11:32 p.m., and then made a phone call at 11:50 p.m.

Yoon returned to Seoul after responding to a phone call at 12:14 a.m., and convened a response meeting around 2:30 a.m., more than four hours after the crowd crush had occurred.

Superintendent Ryu Mi-jin, who was in charge of the situation room of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency at the time of the incident, is also being accused of neglecting her duty.

Under the protocol, she should have been at the situation room located on the fifth floor of the agency headquarters from 6 p.m. through 1 a.m. the next day, but an initial investigation revealed that Ryu was in her own office on the 10th floor. She was reportedly notified about the incident in Itaewon around 11:40 p.m.

Lee Im-jae, former chief of Yongsan Police Station, has been temporarily removed from his post due to his belated response.

Lee was initially notified about the situation around 9:30 p.m., while having dinner near the police station. He arrived on the scene around 11:05 p.m., some 50 minutes after the incident.

An independent investigation launched by the police found that Lee had insisted on traveling by car to the scene despite the heavy traffic in the area, which delayed his arrival. He arrived at Noksapeyeong Station around 10 p.m., which is located only 10 minutes by foot from the Itaewon alley where the crowd crash occurred. But Lee's car took a detour from the subway station to get near to the scene.

lhj@koreatimes.co.kr