AILURE IN POLICE COMMAND ACTIVATION

[Anchor Lead]

We continue with news related to the deadly Itaewon disaster. Investigation has found that the command structure of the police force, responsible for onsite control, did not properly operate. Circumstantial evidence points to a failure in the activation of police command even after President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered that emergency measures be taken. Meanwhile a special police inspection team has launched a probe into the fatal crush.

[Pkg]

President Yoon Suk-yeol's first order in the wake of the Itaewon disaster was made at around 11:21 p.m. Saturday.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myoung(Vice Pres. Spokesperson(Nov. 2)) : "All related agencies led by the interior minister should take swift measures to rescue and treat the victims."

Some 30 minutes later, the National Fire Agency issued a level 3 response alert and ordered the mobilization of all ambulances across the country. However Yoon's order apparently did not reach the top commanders at the National Police Agency, one of the two pillars in safety management along with the fire department. Police commissioner general Yoon Hee-keun first became aware of the crowd crush at 12:14 a.m. through an internal report. The president's order issued an hour earlier did not reach him until this time. Under government guidelines, work-related instructions from the president must be first and foremost viewed by the heads of all related state agencies. One police official said that under circumstances similar to the crush disaster, the president's orders are immediately passed on to the police agency's situation room through the presidential office's situation room. The fact that the police commissioner received his first report 53 minutes after the president gave the order means either the instruction was not properly conveyed to the police to begin with or it was not reported to the commissioner due to failures within the police organization. A newly launched police investigation team is looking into this particular matter. However if the presidential office's situation room or the interior ministry is to blame for the bungled message delivery, then this goes beyond the bounds of a police probe and will require a formal investigation.