hankyoreh

It has been 150 days since the tragic Yongsan fire took the lives of six people. Seasons have changed and summer has begun, but the wounds of that day have not healed and have only gone deeper. It has been five months and their bodies still lie in a hospital morgue refrigerator without a proper funeral. While they were alive, they wandered in search of an earthly home and now their pitiful souls are wandering this world without finding a place to rest. Moreover, some twelve family members, including little children, have spent long and difficult days clasping their soot-covered breasts as black as the burnt building in that morgue.

The cold attitude of the government is as chilling as the morgue refrigerator. They have turned their backs on the situation, calculating that with enough time, the victims’ families would get tired and leave. Rather than drying the tears of powerless people, the government has caused these family members to shed tears of blood. Our government has engaged efforts to distract the public from the Yongsan tragedy, like sensationalizing the case of the Gunpo serial killer, and has gone so far as to not disclose requested information to the public, withholding some 3,000 pages of investigative records that could contain conclusive data for figuring out the truth of what happened.

If this were a proper government, it would be unable to ignore such an important social issue for these past five months. One cannot believe that if relevant government bodies like the Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House), the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government put their heads together they could not find a solution. The citizens’ committee demanding government action on the tragedy, too, is said to be easing its original demands out of a pragmatic need to lessen the pain of the victims’ families. If the government took responsibility, it could unravel the clue to a solution. Instead, the government does not even attempt to go through the pretense of engaging in dialogue with the victim’s families. Surprisingly, the government’s closing of even a window of dialogue is said to be attributable to the strong opposition of the Cheong Wa Dae to the matter. It is dumbfounding to hear that it may be because negotiating with the families could serve as an admission of guilt for the incident.

For how long will the government play dumb about the Yongsan tragedy? The inhumane situation in which the victims have gone 150 days without a funeral can no longer continue to be ignored. This is an issue that goes beyond the government’s official responsibilities to one demonstrating basic human decorum. One hopes the government will engage in sincere measures to engage in dialogue with surviving family members, and exploring how to provide measures to protect them that might mean splitting the cost of a funeral, and restoring honor to the victims.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]