Assembly probe of Itaewon tragedy begins with political jostling

A parliamentary investigation into the Itaewon crowd crush began after many twists on Thursday afternoon.

A 45-day parliamentary probe of the Itaewon Halloween tragedy is passed by a National Assembly plenary session on Thursday afternoon. [YONHAP]

A parliamentary investigation into the Itaewon crowd crush began after many twists on Thursday afternoon.

The National Assembly held a plenary session Thursday and voted on a plan for a 45-day parliamentary investigation into the Halloween disaster that killed 158 people.

The plan was passed with 220 votes in favor, 13 against, and 21 abstentions out of 254 present.

A special parliamentary committee on the probe will conduct an investigation from Thursday to Jan. 7.

The probe will look into what occurred at 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.

Among them, the investigation into the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office — which was the biggest topic of debate among parliamentarians — was limited to its drug department only.

The committee was set to hold a first meeting Thursday morning to draw up a 45-day parliamentary investigation plan, including the exact period and subjects of investigation. Then the National Assembly plenary session was supposed to vote on the plan later in the day.

But the committee’s first meeting was delayed as members of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s People Power Party (PPP) refused to attend following a disagreement over the list of agencies subject to investigation.

The Democratic Party of Korea (DP) initially demanded the Ministry of Justice be included in the investigation, which it scaled down to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, to look into the issue of police deployment in connection with drug investigations. The DP believes that the prosecution neglected crowd control to focus on drug crimes that night. Among the 137 police officers dispatched to the Itaewon area on Oct. 29, 79 were sent to crack down on drugs.

Despite an agreement reached between the two political parties’ leaders, the PPP protested that it was unreasonable for the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to be included in the investigation.

The adjustment of investigative rights between the police and the prosecution during former President Moon Jae-in’s administration stripped prosecutors of their right to order police investigations.

“After the adjustment of the investigative power of the prosecution and police, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office has […] no authority to deploy or command the police,” Kim Mi-ae, a spokesperson for the PPP, told reporters Thursday.

As the two parties failed to narrow their differences, they eventually agreed to include the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s drug department on the list.

“I believe there are concerns among members of the PPP that if the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office is called in [for a parliamentary probe], the scope would become too wide,” Rep. Woo Sang-ho of the DP, who was voted chairman of the special committee, said.

“We will call in the head of the drug investigation [from the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office] to see if that investigation has any connection with the Itaewon tragedy.”

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