hankyoreh

Family members of those killed in the tragic crowd crush in Seoul’s Itaewon neighborhood on Oct. 29 hold a press conference at the Minbyun offices in Seoul on Nov. 22. (Yonhap)

A council for families of those killed in the Itaewon disaster is steadily growing. Within just 15 days of launching, 67 of the 158 victims’ families have joined the council.

With the government doing little to support the bereaved, evident in the way that it appears reluctant to see the families gather in one place, the families have taken it upon themselves to seek out other relevant parties.

As of Tuesday, families of 67 of the crowd crush victims have joined a group currently calling itself the “Oct. 29 Itaewon Tragedy’s Bereaved Families Prep Council.”

A 63-year-old surnamed Choi participating in the council told the Hankyoreh, “Bereaved families thought that they were alone in their pain, but thanks to the press conference that was held on Nov. 22, everyone tried their best to get in touch with each other.”

Choi went on to say that for the past month “everyone was despairing due to the grief of losing a child, but now we’re sharing that pain together.”

The bereaved families first met up through Minbyun-Lawyers for a Democratic Society on Nov. 15, when around 30 people (families of 17 victims) came together. One week later, family members of 34 victims held a press conference on Nov. 22 at which they demanded a thorough investigation into the tragedy involving the active participation of the victims or families, and the government’s sincere apology, among other requests.

Since then, the bereaved families have voluntarily gathered to create the council, and, on Monday, the families of 65 victims announced that they are “trying to create a council where all bereaved families can join at any time.”

“We intend to make the voices of the families clear, to find out the truth about the victims’ unjust deaths, and to hold those responsible accountable,” the council said of why they were organizing.

The families are outraged at the government’s behavior. The 54-year-old father of actor Lee Ji-han criticized the government, saying that “the administration has been doing whatever it wants to do this past month without asking what the families want.”

“The past, present, and the future of the 158 victims have disappeared, but the government is trying to make this tragedy into political strife, or just are preventing the bereaved from doing anything,” he added.

By Seo Hye-mi, staff reporter

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