PPP, DP agree to extend National Assembly’s investigation into Itaewon tragedy

The congressional investigation, which kicked off on Nov. 24, had a time limit of 45 days and thus expires on Jan. 7. A total of 158 people died on Oct. 29 in Itaewon on Halloween's weekend while one survivor committed suicide.

Democratic Party floor leader Park Hong-keun, left, and People Power Party floor leader Joo Ho-young announce an agreement to extend the National Assembly's investigation into the Itaewon tragedy for another 10 days at the National Assembly on Thursday. [YONHAP]

The People Power Party (PPP) and the Democratic Party (DP) on Thursday agreed to extend the National Assembly’s investigation into last year’s Itaewon tragedy for another 10 days until Jan. 17.

The two parties will be voting on the extension of the congressional investigation period on the main floor on Friday.

The congressional investigation committee, which kicked off on Nov. 24, had a time limit of 45 days and thus expires on Jan. 7.

The parliamentary probe has been separate from the ongoing police investigation into the case. It included officials such as the national police chief who had been left out in the police probe. While the parliament does not have the power to indict anyone, it can demand that ministries or government bodies take corrective measures, such as awarding compensation or taking disciplinary actions.

The committee consists of 18 lawmakers, nine of whom hold seats for the DP and seven of whom hold seats for the PPP.

Democratic Party floor leader Park Hong-keun said the two parties also agreed to discuss the witnesses that will be called in.

"These discussions will be held by the committee," Park said on Thursday.

The issue of witnesses has caused the biggest conflict between the two parties. The PPP wants to call in DP lawmaker Shin Hyun-young while the DP wants the families of the dead and survivors to appear as witnesses.

Shin has been at the center of controversy for allegedly requesting a medical team that was dispatched to the site of the tragedy, come pick her up.

The emergency medical team is accused of arriving late to the scene due to being forced to divert from their course to collect Shin, a doctor, and her husband, a dentist.

"We need to have Shin as a witness, or at least someone from the medical team to testify as a witness, so that we can get to the bottom of what went wrong with the emergency medical response," PPP floor leader Joo Ho-young said in a party meeting on Thursday.

One-hundred-fifty-eight people were killed due to a crowd crush in Itaewon on Halloween last year.

Police on Thursday referred their cases on Kim Kwang-ho, chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Choi Seong-beom, chief of Yongsan Fire Department, Ryu Mi-jin, former senior emergency monitoring officer at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, and several district-level officials and police officers to the prosecution with a request to indict them for professional negligence leading to involuntary manslaughter.

They had already referred their cases on Park Hee-young, head of the Yongsan District Office, and ex-chief of Yongsan Police Lee, to the prosecution, requesting the same charges.

Police in Korea do not have the authority to indict suspects unless the case is minor and the associated fines are less than 200,000 won ($157).

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]