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Lee Im-jae, former chief of Yongsan Police Station and 112 Situation Chief, were arrested for not taking appropriate measures during the Itaewon disaster.

As the police officer responsible for the scene response was arrested for the first time, it seems that the investigation, which has hardly progressed, will speed up.



This is reporter Sohn Ki-jun's report.



<Reporter> Lee



Im-jae, former chief of the Yongsan Police Station, and Song Byeong-joo, former head of the 112 Situation Department at Yongsan Station, were in charge of directing the scene at the time of the disaster.



[Imjae Lee/Former Chief of Yongsan Police Station: I am sorry as the chief of police at the time, and I am sorry.

Today's warrant review will be as truthful as possible.]



After the second warrant review, all of them were arrested.



Previously, on the 5th, the court dismissed the arrest warrant, saying that it was necessary to guarantee the right to defend, but this time, it explained the reason for issuance, saying, "There is considerable reason to suspect that he committed a crime and there is concern about destroying evidence."



After the warrant was dismissed once, the police special investigation headquarters has focused on reinforcing the charges against them.



In particular, former chief Lee was charged with not correcting the situation report that he had arrived 48 minutes earlier on the day of the disaster.



In the end, as the key suspect, former chief Lee, succeeds in securing a new recruit, the investigation into the special edition is expected to gain vitality.



It is expected that the investigation will continue towards the upper lines, such as Yongsan-gu Office, Yongsan Fire Station, Seoul City Hall and the Ministry of Public Administration and Security.



The special version believes that the charges against them are greater than the police in that local governments are primarily responsible for disasters under relevant laws.



The special edition applied for an arrest warrant for Yongsan-gu Office Chief Park Hee-young, and plans to apply for an arrest warrant for Yongsan Fire Chief Choi Seong-beom soon.



(Video coverage: Lee Sang-hak, video editing: Park Chun-bae)