special panel-Itaewon crowd crush

SEOUL, Oct. 27 (Yonhap) -- A special commission investigating the deadly 2022 Itaewon crowd crush plans to question former President Yoon Suk Yeol over the government's handling of the disaster, officials said Tuesday.

The National Commission for the Investigation of the October 29 Itaewon Disaster outlined its plan to question the jailed ex-president and former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min in December as it shared the interim results of its probe.

The commission is tasked with uncovering the cause of the tragedy, which happened during Halloween festivities in Seoul's nightlife district of Itaewon on Oct. 29, 2022, when crowds surged into a narrow alley, leaving 159 people dead and 196 injured.

The panel found various shortcomings in the government response to the disaster.

According to the interim probe results, the interior ministry's situation room became aware of the crowd crush at 10:48 p.m. on the night of the tragedy, but only notified then Minister Lee 43 minutes later.

Yoon, who served as president at the time, made rescue instructions at 11:21 p.m., but the ministry did not deliver them for 55 minutes.

The panel said it also secured testimony that Lee proposed changing the terms "disaster" and "victims" in relation to the incident to "accident" and "deceased," respectively, to help the government evade responsibility.

The move was finalized after it was reported to Yoon.

The panel seeks to question Yoon and Lee about the various allegations. Both are currently in custody as they stand criminal trials in connection with Yoon's failed 2024 martial law bid.

The interim probe results also showed that 120 police officers had been stationed in Itaewon in Seoul's central ward of Yongsan on the night of the tragedy, but without anyone specialized for crowd management.

Police received 11 reports of crowd crush concerns even before the disaster happened but did not dispatch officers in response.

The Yongsan fire chief also only declared taking command of the scene 39 minutes after his arrival at 10:29 p.m. when he witnessed the crowd crush, the panel said.

The panel also criticized the Yongsan Ward office for failing to remove an illegal structure near the alley where the disaster happened. The structure is suspected to have contributed to the crowd surge.

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