Itaewon Disaster Panel Votes to File Complaint Against Yongsan Ward Chief and Ex-Subway Official

A special investigation committee on the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush decided on May 8, 2026 to file a complaint against Park Hee-young, head of the Yongsan ward office. The committee will seek an investigation into Park on charges of abuse of power and perjury by filing a request to a joint team of police investigators and prosecutors, Yonhap reported.

Park Hee-young is accused of ordering officials to remove anti-government posters just as they were set to respond to the deadly crowd crush in the nightlife district of Itaewon on Oct.

29, 2022. The committee said the instructions prevented officials from immediately responding to the tragedy. Park denied making such instructions in a March committee hearing. The crowd crush killed 159 people.

It occurred during Halloween festivities in a narrow alley in Itaewon amid a lack of effective crowd control measures. A file photo of Park Hee-young attending a hearing by the special investigation committee was taken on March 13, 2026. The committee also decided to file a complaint against a former Itaewon subway station chief.

She is accused of perjuring herself during the committee hearing. The former Itaewon subway station chief said there was no police request for trains to pass the station without stopping on October 29, 2022. The committee has determined that the former Itaewon subway station chief's remarks were false after questioning multiple witnesses.

The panel reached that conclusion before deciding to refer her case to investigators along with Park Hee-young's. Yonhap reported both decisions were made on the same day.

“Park denied making such instructions in a March committee hearing." — Special investigation committee The actions mark the latest step by the committee examining official conduct surrounding South Korea's deadliest crowd disaster in decades. Park Hee-young (R), head of the Yongsan ward office, attends a hearing by a special investigation committee on the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush in central Seoul in this file photo taken March 13, 2026.”