Impact of Presidential Office Relocation on Itaewon Tragedy Revealed in Government Audit
The recent government audit has disclosed that the relocation of the presidential office to Yongsan significantly influenced the response to the Itaewon tragedy on October 29. As part of the audit findings, the government plans to take disciplinary action against 62 public officials found to have engaged in misconduct during the disaster response and subsequent measures.
The government has been operating a joint audit task force (TF) since July 23 to clarify the circumstances surrounding the Itaewon tragedy. This effort included audits of the police and the city of Seoul, as well as Yongsan District, with the findings announced on the 23rd.
The audit revealed that on the day of the tragedy, the police concentrated their security personnel around the presidential office near Yongsan while failing to deploy any security forces in the Itaewon area. Furthermore, the Yongsan Police Station did not establish a crowd management plan for Halloween, which had been developed in 2020 and 2021, for the year 2022 when the tragedy occurred.
It was particularly noted that following the relocation of the presidential office, the demand for security at the Yongsan Police Station increased significantly. The command structures of both the Seoul and Yongsan Police prioritized the deployment of personnel for security around the presidential office.
In the audit results from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, it was confirmed that the initial reporting system for disaster occurrences at the Yongsan District Office did not function effectively. Out of five personnel in the situation room, two were engaged in what appeared to be a directive from the district mayor to remove flyers from a wall near the War Memorial during the time of the tragedy. Meanwhile, other staff ignored calls related to the crowd crush incident. After receiving a disaster alert message from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, they reported the situation to the responsible department head but failed to notify the district mayor and other officials.
During a disaster, local governments are required to establish an integrated response system; however, the Yongsan District Office faced delays in building this system due to the major responsible parties not fulfilling their roles.
The joint audit TF will follow up on these findings, with plans to hold accountable a total of 62 individuals, including 51 from the National Police Agency and 11 from the Seoul City officials.
The government has been operating a joint audit task force (TF) since July 23 to clarify the circumstances surrounding the Itaewon tragedy. This effort included audits of the police and the city of Seoul, as well as Yongsan District, with the findings announced on the 23rd.
The audit revealed that on the day of the tragedy, the police concentrated their security personnel around the presidential office near Yongsan while failing to deploy any security forces in the Itaewon area. Furthermore, the Yongsan Police Station did not establish a crowd management plan for Halloween, which had been developed in 2020 and 2021, for the year 2022 when the tragedy occurred.
It was particularly noted that following the relocation of the presidential office, the demand for security at the Yongsan Police Station increased significantly. The command structures of both the Seoul and Yongsan Police prioritized the deployment of personnel for security around the presidential office.
In the audit results from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, it was confirmed that the initial reporting system for disaster occurrences at the Yongsan District Office did not function effectively. Out of five personnel in the situation room, two were engaged in what appeared to be a directive from the district mayor to remove flyers from a wall near the War Memorial during the time of the tragedy. Meanwhile, other staff ignored calls related to the crowd crush incident. After receiving a disaster alert message from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, they reported the situation to the responsible department head but failed to notify the district mayor and other officials.
During a disaster, local governments are required to establish an integrated response system; however, the Yongsan District Office faced delays in building this system due to the major responsible parties not fulfilling their roles.
The joint audit TF will follow up on these findings, with plans to hold accountable a total of 62 individuals, including 51 from the National Police Agency and 11 from the Seoul City officials.
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