[Press Release] Commission Holds Final Presentation of Forensic Medicine and Disaster Medicine Research Projects

National Commission for the Investigation of the October 29 Itaewon Disaster
Press Release
May 21, 2026

Commission Holds Final Presentation of Research Findings on the Forensic Review of Causes of Death of the Deceased and the Disaster Medical Review of the Mechanisms of Death

Experts presented findings from an in-depth analysis of the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the deceased and the overall disaster medical response system.
Experts identified the need to improve postmortem examination, emergency medical care, and patient transport record systems in large-scale disasters.

The National Commission for the Investigation of the October 29 Itaewon Disaster and Prevention of Recurrence (the “Commission”) held the presentation of the findings of two research projects titled “Forensic Review of the Causes of Death of the Deceased in the October 29 Itaewon Disaster” and “Disaster Medical Review of the Mechanisms of Death of the Deceased in the October 29 Itaewon Disaster” on May 21 in the 8th-floor auditorium of the Commission’s office.

The research projects were conducted to medically re-examine the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the deceased and the disaster medical response at the time of the disaster, with the aim of providing foundational data for future investigation findings and institutional improvements.

The forensic medicine research was conducted by the Department of Forensic Medicine at Pusan National University College of Medicine, led by Professor Na Ju-Young. The research team comprehensively analyzed records—including death certificates, postmortem examination reports, emergency response logs, hospital medical records, and investigation reports on unnatural deaths— examining the mechanism of death for each deceased person and any discrepancies among the records.

The findings showed that pre-existing investigation reports on unnatural deaths recorded 93.8% of all cases (150 cases) as “compressive/crush asphyxia.” However, the forensic re-examination identified a need to further differentiate the causes of death, including (i) asphyxia due to nasal and oral obstruction, (ii) asphyxia due to neck compression, (iii) asphyxia due to airway obstruction, (iv) injuries to the torso, in addition to compressive asphyxia.

The disaster medicine research was conducted by the Emergency Medicine Research Foundation, led by Professor Wang Soon-Joo, and analyzed the emergency medical system and on-site response at the time of the disaster from the perspective of disaster medicine.

The researchers identified structural problems in the disaster medical response process, including (i) delays in establishing and transitioning to an on-site emergency medical station (ii) limitations in triage (iii) insufficient information sharing among hospitals and (iv) confusion in the patient transport system. In particular, the researchers analyzed that paper-based record-keeping systems and the lack of real-time information sharing among hospitals exacerbated confusion at the disaster scene in large-scale disaster situations.

Based on the findings of these research projects, the Commission will conduct a more comprehensive review of the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the deceased and the overall disaster response process at the time of the disaster, and will use the findings as foundational data for verifying relevant facts and conducting further investigations.

The Commission also plans to identify structural problems that may recur in future large-scale disasters and develop measures to improve the institutional framework for disaster medicine, postmortem examinations, and record-keeping systems. //End//