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| Choi Seong-beom, chief of Yongsan Fire Station provides updates on the Itaewon crowd crush disaster during a press briefing held in Itaewon, Seoul, Oct. 30. Newsis |
By Lee Yeon-woo
Choi Seong-beom, chief of Yongsan Fire Station, has become a visible figure online after the Itaewon crowd crush disaster. He gained public support as video footage about his press briefing on the scene of the tragedy went viral. As Choi updated the media, his left hand was seen visibly shaking after he shouted at some absent-minded revelers who were being noisy, this instantly garnered plenty of online support for the firefighter tasked with delivering the grim details of the tragedy.
Ever since, the internet has been flooded with social media posts and messages praising him.
However, Choi is now among six officials who are facing further police investigations for alleged negligent responses to the tragedy.
The National Policy Agency said Monday that its special investigation team booked Choi for failing to perform his professional duties at the Itaewon crowd crush scene. They also booked former Yongsan Police Station chief Lee Im-jae, Mayor of Yongsan District Park Hee-young and Senior Superintendent Ryu Mi-jin, who was in charge of monitoring the situation that night, as well as two police officers from the Yongsan police station.
The special investigation team explained that Choi failed to manage the situation properly after the crowd crush had occurred. They referred to the situation where an ambulance from Jongno fire station arrived much earlier at the scene than the one from Yongsan fire station, whose location is much closer to Itaewon Station.
It is known that the ambulance from Yongsan fire station left the station at 10:07 p.m. to transport a patient bleeding from his head but arrived late to the scene.
The team will also look into whether Yongsan fire station's countermeasures and relief work observed protocol that night. "Choi is facing allegations, too," Kim Dong-wook, a special investigation team spokesperson said.
The news disappointed many internet users who publicly supported Choi.
"The whole country has seen the fire station chief of briefing with his hand shaking as he was worn out rescuing people," an online user said.
"The ambulance was late because it was transporting a patient. They weren't playing. It is ridiculous to accuse them of failing in their professional duty (at the Itaewon crowd crush disaster)," another online commenter wrote.
Since Monday afternoon, the keywords "fire station chief" have become a trending topic on Twitter. More than 13,000 posts about the issue have been uploaded. Most of them show compassion for Choi and criticize the special investigation team for laying charges against the wrong person.
There is even a petition calling to reconsider whether he should be investigated. It was posted on the National Assembly's website on Monday. "The administrative system was indeed insufficient but this is not due to the police officers and rescue workers who were at the scene. Do not sacrifice the chief of the fire station and the crews just to assign blame, they did nothing but their best to control the situation. This tragedy happened due to an unorganized system, and top-down miscommunication," it said.
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