Ruling party vows accountability for those responsible for Itaewon tragedy

SEOUL: South Korea ruling People Power Party (PPP) vowed Wednesday to thoroughly hold those responsible to account, after revelations that police did little even after receiving 11 calls about the dangerous level of crowds on the night of the Itaewon tragedy.

Rep. Chung Jin-suk, the PPP's interim chief, said the party holds "infinite responsibility" over the accident that killed 156 people and will do everything it can to prevent similar accidents from happening, Yonhap news agency reported.

"We feel very sorry for the people. ... There should be answers to why police made a wrong judgment even after visiting the scene of the accident four times beforehand and why police did not take proper measures, such as dispatching a squad," it reported Chung said.

Police were found to have received multiple 112 emergency calls from citizens worried about a possible crowd crush starting about four hours before one of the worst disasters in South Korea's history took place Saturday night at Seoul's popular nightlife district of Itaewon.

On Tuesday, the National Police Agency chief Yoon Hee-keun held a press conference, apologising for the "insufficient" police response and promising an internal inspection into what went wrong.

"We propose launching a special committee to investigate the Itaewon accident comprised of the ruling and opposition parties and experts immediately after the national mourning period ends," Chung said, noting the accident should be accurately analysed to come up with a preventative measure that fits the country's laws and the public management system.

The mourning period is set to last until this Saturday.

The PPP decided Wednesday to put forth a bill to revise the Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety to bolster safety management by making the heads of municipalities take charge of events without organisers and send emergency text messages based on population density data from mobile carriers.

-- BERNAMA