이태원 참사 투입 소방관 2명 ‘참사 희생자’ 인정…“트라우마 때문에 사망”

Two Seoul firemen, who responded to the Itaewon tragedy, have been recognized as the 161st and 162nd victims. This follows the recognition of the earlier death of 160 Seoul firemen in the same incident. The 25th Special Investigation Committee for the 29th Itaewon Tragedy has approved two investigation reports stating that two firemen who participated in rescue and emergency operations after the incident succumbed to mental health issues.

The committee determined that both firemen experienced severe emotional distress and depression following the tragedy, leading to their untimely deaths.

The Saseok-dong fire station personnel, identified as Mr. Ahn Mu-jae, responded despite being off-duty due to a vacation. He carried out tasks such as search and recovery and body handling on the scene. Subsequently, he experienced severe emotional distress, avoidance behavior, and depression, requiring psychiatric treatment and medication.

The second fireman, identified as Mr. Park Ah-mu, was assigned duties as an emergency medical technician at the scene, responsible for classifying and transporting patients. After the incident, Mr. Park's family and colleagues noted that he became unusually quiet and experienced anxiety and depression.

During the special investigation committee meeting on the 25th, an interim report on the adequacy of the Ulsan District's disaster and safety situation during the incident was also presented. The committee's findings revealed that Ulsan had been handling nighttime and holiday disaster situations under general duty rather than disaster-specific duty systems.

Moreover, they found that duty personnel had not received sufficient training or inspections to effectively manage and report disaster situations in real-time. This was revealed as a result of the committee's investigation, which showed that on the day before the incident, Minister Park Hui-young ordered the dismissal of duty officers and disaster management officials from the disaster safety situation room, and the removal of a letter criticizing President Yun to make way for a personal communication with former President Yun Seok-yeol.

These additional tasks contributed to the delayed and inadequate disaster response, according to the committee's assessment. The committee plans to investigate the Ulsan District Disaster Safety Headquarters' formation, actions, and operational plans, as well as the distribution of inaccurate information in its reports, in relation to the incident, which occurred four weeks prior to the findings.