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| In this surveillance camera footage, Lee Im-jae, former head of Yongsan Police Station walks on the streets of Itaewon around 11:00 p.m., Oct. 29, heading to the scene of a massive crowd crush. Yonhap |
By Lee Hyo-jin
Lee Im-jae, the former head of Yongsan Police Station, has been charged with professional negligence resulting in deaths and injuries following allegations about his belated, botched response to the massive crowd crush that occurred in central Seoul's Itaewon, Oct. 29, according to an independent investigative team at the National Police Agency, Monday.
Lee was temporarily removed from his post, Nov. 2, three days after the disaster on Halloween weekend killed 156 people and injured nearly 200.
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| Lee Im-jae, former head of Yongsan Police Station / Korea Times file |
According to the police, Lee was initially notified about the dangerously dense crowds in Itaewon at around 9:30 p.m. while having dinner at a restaurant near Yongsan Police Station after overseeing a rally held near the presidential office that ended around 8:30 p.m.
He headed to Itaewon at around 9:47 p.m. but didn't arrive on the scene until around 11:05 p.m., some 50 minutes after the deadly incident began.
An internal police audit later found that Lee had insisted on traveling by car to the scene despite the heavy traffic in the area, which significantly delayed his arrival.
Lee's vehicle arrived at Noksapyeong Station at around 10 p.m., which is located only 10 minutes by foot from the Itaewon alley where the crowd crush occurred. But his car took a detour from the subway station to bring him closer to the scene.
Lee is also being blamed for failing to report the situation quickly to higher-level law enforcement authorities. His initial call to Kim Kwang-ho, chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA), was made at 11:36 p.m., about 80 minutes after the crowd crush happened.
Moreover, Lee has been accused of lying about his whereabouts. According to the Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times, a written report submitted by Yongsan Police Station to Rep. Kwon Eun-hee of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) states that Lee arrived in Itaewon at 10:20 p.m. and took swift action to deal with the situation.
Lee is not the only police officer in the hot seat.
SMPA Superintendent Ryu Mi-jin, who was in charge of the situation room on the night of the incident, is also facing charges of professional negligence resulting in deaths and injuries.
Under police protocol, she should have been at the situation room located on the fifth floor of the agency's headquarters. But an initial investigation revealed that Ryu was in her own office on the 10th floor. Her first call to her superior was made at 11:34 p.m.
Choi Seong-beom, chief of Yongsan's fire department, and Park Hee-young, head of Yongsan District Office, are also facing negligence charges.
An intensive police investigation conducted by an independent probe team consisting of 500 officers is underway to uncover what exactly went wrong in Itaewon. President Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday vowed that those found responsible will be held accountable.
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