hankyoreh

Staff from the special investigation unit at South Korea’s National Police Agency are transporting material seized during a raid of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, in the city’s Jongno District, on Tuesday afternoon. (Yonhap News)

The South Korean government is trying to hold the police responsible for the Itaewon disaster by focusing on their poor response. On Monday, President Yoon Suk-yeol voiced a strongly worded reproach to the police, asking why they didn’t do anything but gawk at the scene for four hours. The Korean National Police Agency (NPA)’s special investigation unit launched a massive raid on 55 places, including the NPA headquarters itself on Monday.

As time passes, the way in which the president and high-ranking government officials are avoiding responsibility and continuously making excuses for themselves is growing more and more noticeable.

At a meeting about the national safety system on Monday, President Yoon said, “There needs to be large-scale innovation in police responsibilities. We will hold the guilty parties responsible.” He also went on to say, “Clear responsibility is something that should be directed at the person responsible, and vaguely calling for ‘everyone to take responsibility’ is not acceptable in modern society.”

Yoon has drawn a clear line here by stating that this tragedy was due to the police, and not the government. By doing so, he also ducks the demands to remove Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min from their respective positions.

Despite the fact that 156 lives were lost in the middle of Seoul, Yoon has not admitted even once that he is also responsible for failing to prevent the tragedy as the head of state. One cannot help but ask what he meant when he said the president serves as the “control tower” of the country’s safety.

Of course, the police bear a high degree of responsibility. Their decision to ignore a preliminary report from the Yongsan Police Station highlighting the importance of preparing for the Halloween festivities, their attempt to destroy evidence, the bewildering behavior of the Yongsan police chief, and the police leadership’s absurd failure to address this case are more than enough to create public outrage.

Those individuals deserve to be punished after a thorough investigation. But it’s also clear that their punishment will not be enough to wash away the sins of the high-ranking officials who failed to protect the lives and safety of citizens. However, presidential chief of staff Kim Dae-ki has announced that no cabinet members or presidential staff members have offered to resign in connection with the Itaewon tragedy.

Interior Minister Lee Sang-min has yet to reveal what instructions he gave to people as the official who should have been in control of the situation. Even though he deserves to be severely reprimanded solely based on the inappropriate remarks he has made since the tragedy, he shows no sign of resigning.

Park Hee-young, who neglected to prepare for Halloween as head of the Yongsan District Office, has only said she will “acknowledge the many sacrifices with a heavy heart.”

Yoon’s focus on legal and criminal responsibility is certainly linked to the irresponsible attitude of these public officials. They should remember that if they try to make a scapegoat of the police, they’ll face even greater public resistance.

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