A special police team investigating the deadly Itaewon crowd surge is questioning Yongsan District Office chief Park Hee-young, who is suspected of failing in her duties to prevent and respond to the tragic accident.

Park appeared at the team's office in Mapo District at around 9:50 a.m. Friday, deflecting questions by reporters and simply saying that she will respond sincerely to the interrogation.

Based on materials it secured from raids and testimonies from district office employees, the police plan to grill Park on whether the office had properly set up safety measures ahead of the Halloween festivities in Itaewon and what kind of duties Park had actually carried out.

The investigation team announced last Monday that Park is under investigation on charges of professional negligence resulting in death, slapping a travel ban on the district chief four days later.

Meanwhile, the special team plans to summon senior superintendent Ryu Mi-jin at 4 p.m. on Friday to question her over her actions as the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's emergency call monitoring at the time of the crush and the deficient police response. Ryu was booked last Monday on dereliction of duty.