Nine more called for questioning in Itaewon tragedy

Nine more police officers, fire officers and public officials will be called in for questioning in relation to the Itaewon tragedy, police said Wednesday.

Joo Ho-young, left, floor leader of the People Power Party, and his Democratic Party counterpart Park Hong-keun announce an agreement on a parliamentary probe into the Itaewon tragedy during a news conference at the National Assembly in Seoul on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

Nine more police officers, fire officers and public officials will be called in for questioning in relation to the Itaewon tragedy, police said Wednesday.

The National Police Agency's special investigation unit said Wednesday it called in nine more people to be questioned based on its investigation over the past 20 days.

The list includes four people from the police, including Park Sung-min, a police superintendent general, and Song Byung-joo, a former emergency monitoring officer at Yongsan Police Precinct; three from the Yongsan district office, which covers the Itaewon area, including Yoo Seung-jae, the deputy chief at the gu office; one from the Yongsan Fire Department; and one from the Itaewon Station.

This brought the total number of suspects facing charges in relation to the Itaewon tragedy to 17, including Interior Minister Lee Sang-min.

Among the nine suspects called in for questioning on Wednesday, police superintendent general Park and the intelligence chief of Yongsan Police Precinct are suspected of ordering the destruction of evidence. The remaining seven face charges of occupational negligence.

Park is suspected of ordering an internal intelligence report to be deleted. The report warned about possible dangers during Halloween celebrations in Itaewon. Park is the highest-ranking officer among the police being investigated since the launch of the special investigation unit.

Song, who was previously in charge of the 112 police emergency hotline in Yongsan District, is being investigated for a possible failure to report the situation to Lee Im-jae, former chief of the Yongsan Police Precinct. Lee was summoned for questioning earlier this week.

Yongsan District deputy chief Yoo presided over a safety meeting ahead of Halloween and is being investigated for failing to take appropriate precautions.

In addition, the head of the on-site command team at Yongsan Fire Department is suspected of failing to take appropriate measures during the "golden hour" after the disaster. An official from the special investigation unit said Wednesday that the golden hour, or time period after the crush in which people may have been saved, was “before 11 p.m.”

The stationmaster at the Itaewon metro station faces charges of not asking for trains to pass Itaewon Station without stopping because crowds had grown too large.

After completing a second round of questioning of those summoned earlier, the special investigation unit plans to issue arrest warrants next week.

Meanwhile, the country’s ruling and opposition political parties agreed Wednesday to launch a parliamentary probe into the Itaewon tragedy.

The floor leaders of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) held a press conference Wednesday afternoon to announce a 45-day parliamentary investigation starting Thursday.

The probe will look into the Presidential Office's situation room, the National Security Office's National Center for Crisis Management, the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, the National Police Agency, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and the Yongsan district office.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]