<Anchor>
Lee Im-jae, former head of Yongsan Police Station, who was in charge of the site at the time of the Itaewon disaster, and Ryu Mi-jin, then Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's situation manager, attended the National Assembly yesterday (16th).
In their first public speaking since the disaster, the two men each explained that they had not received a single report that night and that it was customary that they were absent from the Situation Room.
This is reporter Hwa Kang-yoon.
<Reporter>
At the time of the Itaewon disaster, Lee Im-jae, former chief of the Yongsan Police Station, arrived at the scene only 50 minutes after the first report while trying to move by official
car
.
/ Former Yongsan Police Station: I didn't know about that until then...
.]
He said that he was unaware of the situation because he had not received a single report.
[Lee Im-jae/Former Yongsan Police Station Chief: I asked the head of the 112 Situation Department about the current situation, and he replied, 'Currently there are a lot of people and the car is congested, but there is no special situation.
'
[Kim Gyo-heung/Democratic Party member: Just because you didn't know doesn't mean you're exempt, why didn't the people who should know know, this is it.]
[Jang Je-won/Member of People's Power: (at 10:15) the chief is in the car or wanders the streets was doing
How cowardly is the attitude he puts on his subordinate cops...
.]
Former chief Lee explained that it was not to transfer responsibility, but to clarify the facts.
On the day of the disaster, it was confirmed that Mi-jin Ryu, former head of the personnel education department who worked as a situation manager at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, did not go to the 112 situation room at all until he received a report on the accident.
[Lee Seong-man/Democratic Party Member: So, did you just stay in the office without going down to the 112 situation room?]
[Ryu Mi-jin/Former Personnel Education Manager at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency: Sorry.] The
reason I didn't go to the situation room was "custom", he replied.
[Jeong Woo-taek/Rep. People's Power: You recognized the situation about 1 hour and 24 minutes after the accident, can I recognize it like this?]
[Ryu Mi-jin/Former Personnel Education Director, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency: Yes, the time I first received the report was at that time ]
In response to the continued questioning of the allegations, former chief Lee and former chief Ryu shed tears and repeatedly apologized, saying, "I'm sorry."