Ex-Yongsan police chief, Yongsan fire station chief to be questioned over Itaewon crowd crush

▲ Lee Im-jae (L), a former head of the Yongsan Police Station, and Choi Seong-beom, chief of the Yongsan Fire Station (Yonhap)

Itaewon crush-investigation

Ex-Yongsan police chief, Yongsan fire station chief to be questioned over Itaewon crowd crush

By Kim Han-joo

SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Yonhap) -- Police are set to bring in a former head of the Yongsan Police Station and the Yongsan fire station chief for questioning Monday as part of an investigation into the crowd crush in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood.

Lee Im-jae, who formerly headed the station covering the Itaewon district, has been booked on charges of professional negligence resulting in the deaths of at least 158 people, mostly those in their 20s, on Oct. 29.

A special police investigation team is investigating why Lee arrived at the crowd crush site late, some 50 minutes after the incident erupted, though an earlier situation report had shown that he arrived there right after the incident.

Also under scrutiny is whether he took enough crowd control measures after prior warnings of a possible safety accident during the Halloween period.

The team is also investigating Choi Seong-beom, chief of the Yongsan Fire Station, who also has been booked on charges of professional negligence. Choi is accused of inaction in the face of police requests for a joint response on the night of the accident, officers said.

[https://youtu.be/tgME941HWyo]

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