[Exclusive] Two days after the disaster, 'Civil group visit'... Referring to the Sewol ferry, "Government pays attention to factors"

<Anchor>

Yesterday (31st), two days after the Itaewon accident, our reporters obtained an internal document compiled by the National Police Agency by collecting information on civic groups, the media, and public opinion trends.

It was confirmed that the document contained a statement that progressive groups plan to pressure the government and that there are signs that the theory of government responsibility is emerging.

First of all, this is reporter Jang Min-seong.

<Reporter Min-seong Jang>

This is a document from the National Police Agency titled 'Policy reference material' written on the 31st of last month.

Under the bold text of special treatment, public disclosure and dissemination to other institutions were prohibited.

Among the five themes, this is the 'rebellious atmosphere such as major groups'.

Some progressive groups wrote that they were discussing response plans such as an emergency meeting internally, saying that it was the biggest disaster since the Sewol ferry ferry, and that it was a large issue that could lead to a movement to resign.

The Korean Federation of Women's Organizations mentioned that there were many women among the dead and pointed out that it is considering using it to criticize the government's 'anti-women policy', such as the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

The National People's Action Plan is to put pressure on the government by defining it as a 'second Sewol disaster,' and in the category of human rights groups related to the Sewol ferry, there are people who say that they should actively represent the position of the victims' families.

Conservative group trends included the words of a conservative group activist saying that on the day of the Itaewon disaster, many attendees of the candlelight vigil in the city would have joined in Itaewon, and that they would claim responsibility for the candlelight activists.

These are the circumstances of direct contact with officials from progressive and conservative groups, in addition to organizing publicly available statements and announcements.

In the topic of 'online specific public opinion', he said that 'government responsibility theory' is on the rise, and the number of reports on government responsibility has increased from 9 to 108, and current affairs programs such as MBC's PD Handbook are also preparing for in-depth reporting. .

Although there are increasing claims that government measures are insufficient online, there is also a lot of antipathy for political use, he analyzed.

(Video coverage: Kim Nam-seong, Yang Ji-hoon, video editing: Park Jeong-sam)

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<Anchor>

This document also contains the opinions of the National Police Agency on the government's future countermeasures.

It is stated that measures to raise public funds should be reviewed, and

inappropriate words and behaviors of public officials should be thoroughly blocked.

Next, reporter Hak-Hwi Kim.

<Reporter Hak-Hwi Kim>

Policy References The first theme is 'need to pay attention to factors burdened by the government'.

He wrote that the issue of compensation may continue to become an issue in the future, and that conflict management related to funeral expenses, medical expenses, and compensation is necessary to quickly resolve the accident.

To this end, it contains the responses of local government officials that it is necessary to review fundraising in an atmosphere of mourning and create an atmosphere in which the government participates.

Referring to the case of the Pangyo ventilator crash that killed 16 people in 2014, the compensation issue becomes more difficult to negotiate as the participation of outsiders increases.

The police also suggested that the inappropriate speech and behavior of high-ranking officials should be thoroughly blocked.

It is said that at the time of the Sewol ferry, the ruling party lawmaker's 'traffic accident remarks' became an issue and faced criticism.

Like the controversy over the 7-hour journey of former President Park Geun-hye on the Sewol ferry, "It is expected that attempts to find shortcomings in connection with the issue of the official residence following the relocation of the Oval Office by checking the president's report time and instructions in minutes and seconds are expected to continue." I heard it for a reason.

We also presented a kind of guideline to present only key messages concisely so that content that could cause controversy is not included in briefings of each ministry related to the Itaewon disaster.

(Video coverage: Cho Chun-dong, video editing: Lee Seung-hee)

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<Anchor>

Reporter Kim Hak-hwi, who covered this content, is here.

[Reporter Hak-Hwi Kim: This document obtained by SBS appears to have been prepared by the National Police Agency's Intelligence Bureau.

It is presumed to be a document for reporting to higher authorities, such as the Presidential Office, as the recipient of the document specifies the prohibition of re-spreading to other institutions.

The National Police Agency only took the position that "if necessary, we are distributing it to related organizations for the prevention and response of risks to public health."]

[Reporter Hak-Hwi Kim: According to the Police Officer Execution Act, the police can collect, write, and distribute information.

However, as the police inspection became a problem at the time of the Sewol ferry disaster, the scope of information collection is specifically stipulated in the Presidential Decree, such as not to get involved in politics and not to collect personal information.

Comparing this document with the regulations, it seems impossible to determine whether it is legal or illegal.

This is because it is difficult to confirm clear political involvement and clear invasion of privacy from documents alone.]

[Reporter Hak-Hwi Kim: The Presidential Decree of the Police Officer Execution Act stipulates that the purpose of information collection by police officers is 'protection of people's freedom and rights'.

However, if you look at this document, the title alone shows the intention to support government activities, such as the need to pay attention to the factors burdened by the government and the atmosphere of opposition from major groups.

In particular, it is expected to be controversial in that he directly contacted officials of civic groups to understand internal trends, regardless of whether he was a liberal or a conservative.

Also, even if we follow the explanation of the police that it was "to prevent and respond to risks to public health," we should have made more detailed information collection to prevent risks such as the Itaewon disaster in advance. It seems to be pointed out that he is only concentrating on collecting information for this purpose.]