Itaewon disaster families sue investigation committee and Yongsan official

Families of victims from the Itaewon crowd crush have filed criminal complaints against the leadership of the Special Investigation Committee and the head of the Yongsan District Office. The complainants allege abuse of power and interference with the exercise of rights following repeated denials of requests to access CCTV footage from the time of the incident.

Four family members filed the complaint with the joint investigation team, naming Song Du-hwan, chairman of the Special Investigation Committee, and Park Jin, the committee's secretary-general, as suspects. They also named Kim Kyung-dae, the head of the Yongsan District Office, alleging that the district office failed to disclose footage from the Yongsan control center.

The families argue that the refusal to release footage from the Yongsan control center and local police stations violates the Itaewon Special Act, which mandates that public institutions cooperate with victims' requests to view records for the purpose of uncovering the truth. They expressed concern that the upcoming transfer of records to the National Archives could further hinder their ability to seek legal remedies and establish the facts of the tragedy.