President Yoon Urged to Remove Ministers and Police Officers Over Halloween Tragedy in Itaewon

The location of the Halloween celebration tragedy is Itaewon, Seoul, South Korea. (Wikimedia Commons/Youngjin)

JAKARTA - The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) stepped up pressure on the presidential office during Tuesday's National Assembly audit to replace Cabinet members, including the interior and safety ministers, as well as top police officials because of their inadequate response to the Halloween crowds in Itaewon that later became a deadly tragedy.

However, presidential Chief of Staff Kim Dae-ki responded by saying that removing the official at this time would not help, reiterating that those responsible would be replaced once the ongoing investigation into the tragedy was completed.

When asked by DPK MP Choi Ki-sang how the police were able to investigate the commissioner general and his office chief for the incident while they were in power, Kim said, "We have to hold someone accountable after finding the cause. Replacing them is not an urgent matter," reported the Korea Times. November 8th.

Kim also referred to the 2014 ferry disaster that killed 304 passengers.

"In light of the sinking of the Sewol ferry, the then marine minister resigned from his post eight months after the incident to deal with the consequences," he explained.

The location of the Halloween celebration tragedy in Itaewon, Seoul, South Korea. (Wikimedia Commons/Youngjin)

A special police investigation team has carried out a thorough internal check, to investigate whether its leaders responded properly to the incident.

The team on Tuesday raided the offices of National Police Agency (NPA) Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun and Seoul Metropolitan Police chief Kim Kwang-ho.

The presidential chief of staff's comments come as Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Security Minister Lee Sang-min and the NPA's Commissioner General are facing mounting criticism for their response to the crushing of the Itaewon crowd, which killed 156 people during Halloween celebrations on Oct. 29.

The day before, President Yoon Suk-yeol criticized the police during a closed-door meeting attended by the interior and safety ministers and the NPA commissioner general, saying the police's responsibility is to prevent disasters from occurring. However, the president stopped short of saying he would replace any of them.

"When the Seongsu Bridge collapses, the state can immediately replace ministers because there is no confirmation hearing process. But when we try to replace ministers and commissioners general now, it will create an administrative vacuum," explained Kim.

Halloween tragedy in Itaewon. (Wikimedia Commons/Ellif)

He spoke of the DPK's earlier reference to former Prime Minister Lee Yung-dig, who submitted his resignation to President Kim Young-sam hours after the bridge collapsed on October 21, 1994, killing 32 people.

His resignation was not immediately accepted, but the president at the time replaced Seoul Mayor Lee Won-jong on the same day as the incident, holding him accountable for the tragedy. At that time, the mayor of Seoul was not an elected official.

Kim also said no Cabinet member, police commissioner or presidential secretary offered their resignation to take responsibility for the Itaewon tragedy. He added that he had not yet advised the president to replace members of the Cabinet.

Meanwhile, throughout the audit session, DPK strengthened its attack on President Yoon's Government over the Itaewon tragedy.

"President Yoon yesterday apologized, but did not mention his responsibilities. Instead, he said he would hold those responsible accountable," said DPK Representative Lee Dong-ju.

"This means he feels sorry for the incident, but thinks it's not his fault," he criticized.

A mourning altar for the victims of the Itaewon Halloween tragedy at Seoul City Hall. (Wikimedia Commons/Bonnielou2013)

Lee added that the president was politically responsible for the incident, citing President Yoon's earlier order to the police to focus on eradicating drugs.

If the president talks about safety, the ministers will talk about safety and the police will emphasize safety. Since Yoon sees the crowd as the target of the crackdown, and not the citizens he has to protect, the entire system can't do anything about the incident. the president's responsibility," he said.

The ruling People's Power Party (PPP) also criticized the police for their response, but distanced President Yoon's Government from responsibility.

"If the police emergency call center was functioning properly, such a major accident could have been prevented," said PPP Representative Jeon Bong-min.

"We have to look at the responsibility of the head of the Yongsan Police Station and the Seoul Metropolitan Police officers who are in charge of (emergency) monitoring," he said.