The Sosuth Korean official in charge of the safety measures of the K-Pop concert at the 1st Pengyu Techno Valley Festival where 16 people died and 11 others seriously injured, apparently commited suicide over the tragedy.

Police reports the death of the 37 year old official surnamed Oh, as they conduct an investigation on the Friday incident at the outdoor concert in the city of Seongnam.

Like Us on Facebook

The fans were standing on a ventilation grating to get a better view when the structure collapsed sending them plunging 18.7 meters down into an underground parking area and left 16 people dead and a couple of others injured.

Disaster relief spokesman, Kim Nan-Jun said on Saturday that Oh, who worked with the group sponsoring the concert, jumped off the building near the place where the tragedy happened. He was found dead early Saturday, a few hours after he was interrogated by the police over the tragedy.

Authorities had scoured the site and closely inspected the gratings and related structures and have questioned 15 people, including officials of the internet news provider that financed and organized the concert.

Police  were also looking into mobile phones, computer hard disks and other documents seized during their search of the hosts and sponsors of the concert to determine the exact cause o the accident.

Around 60 investigation personnel were sent on Sunday, to more than 10 sites to search for evidence, including the offices of the E-Daily and E-Daily TV in Seoul.

Police also summoned the organizers of the said event for questioning. Employees from the company who were involved in installing the ventilation grates near the multipurpose complex where the event was held were also brought in for questioning.

Witnesses  have speculated the accident was another 'man-made' tragedy, as there were no fences nor security guards that could have prevented the spectators from climbing onto the grate.

The event organizers are said to have initially prepared only 400 seats which were already occupied before the concert even started. It was also reported that there were more than 700 people who showed up at the event, but nothing was done to prevent the number of concert goers from increasing.

Safety precautions during the concert were allegedly ignored and the organizers allegedly did not have the initiative to deploy safety personnel to oversee the matter.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the victim's families have reached an agreement with the event organizers for compensation.

Under the agreement, the Edaily and the Gyeonggi Institute of Science and Technology Promotions one of the main sponsors will pay 25 million won (US$23,600) funeral costs to each victim.

Further stipulated in the agreement that other event sponsors which include the Gyeonggi provincial government, Seongnam city and the managers of the city outdoor facilities in the Pangyo Technology Valley would be liable for the compensation depending on the police investigation result.

The families of the victims are urging for liniency for the organizers of the event and for other officials since they have already reached an amicable agreement.

And since the accident was not caused by malice or intent, the families wish that the criminal penalty for the people involved, be minimized. 

Six among the 16 victims were already laid to rest in Seoul and its sorrounding Gyeonggi province on Monday while the rest, slated for Tuesday.

TagsKPop, Seongnam Kpop Concert Tragedy, The 1st Pangyo Techno Valley Festival