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A family member of a person killed in the crowd crush that claimed over 150 lives in Itaewon in October falls to his knees during a National Assembly roundtable with victims’ families by a special committee for a parliamentary probe into the disaster on Dec. 1. (Yonhap)

“President Yoon Suk-yeol, why do you attend a housewarming party for the presidential residence but disregard us?”

These were the words of Lee Jong-cheol, the father of the late Lee Ji-han, a victim of the disastrous crowd crush in Itaewon. Lee spoke during a meeting held Thursday at the National Assembly between bereaved families of those killed that day in Itaewon and the special committee overseeing the parliamentary investigation into the Itaewon disaster.

The meeting was held at the request of the “Oct. 29 Itaewon Tragedy’s Bereaved Families Prep Council,” a group made up of 67 individuals who lost a loved one in the tragic events over a month ago. Although this was their first official meeting with members of the National Assembly’s parliamentary investigation committee, half of the chairs in the room were empty due to the ruling People Power Party’s (PPP) decision to boycott the gathering.

The seats of lawmakers from the People Power Party remain empty during the Dec. 1 roundtable with family members of victims killed in the Itaewon crowd crush in October. (Yonhap)

“Is this common sense? For us, this is sinful,” Lee Jong-cheol said, his voice shaking.

At the meeting, which was led only by committee members of the three opposition parties including the Democratic Party, the Justice Party, and the Basic Income Party, the bereaved families expressed concern about whether the truth could properly be revealed and those responsible reprimanded, given the government and ruling party’s noncooperation so far.

“It’s been almost a month since I applied for an in-person talk [at the presidential office]. I received a text message from the presidential office that the request had been received, but there was no response whatsoever. Why are you causing us such hardship?” Lee Jong-cheol asked.

The bereaved father then stood from his seat and fell to his knees, crying out, “PPP interim leader Chung Jin-suk and floor leader Joo Ho-young! Please reveal the truth! I am pleading with you. Please, I beg of you,” he cried.

The grieving man’s emotional appeal filled the room, and the dozen or so bereaved family members also present broke into tears as well.

Lee Jong-cheol castigated political circles for their passivity in reprimanding those responsible for what happened, including Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min.

He also accused Yoon of having Lee Sang-min’s back throughout this process.

“Wasn’t this akin to putting indirect pressure on the police special investigation headquarters?” Lee asked, referring to the president’s actions. According to Lee Ji-han’s father, it was as if the president was warning the investigators to watch where they point their fingers by indirectly signaling that the safety minister was “his person.”

“Is this fairness and common sense?” the grieving man asked.

A family member of an individual who was killed in the Itaewon crowd crush sobs as they speak into a microphone during a roundtable with lawmakers at the National Assembly on Dec. 1. (Yonhap)

To the Democrats, he asked, “Is the dismissal of Minister Lee Sang-min really an issue of political strife? Democratic Party lawmakers, you’re no different.”

Lawmakers gathered heard complaints about the government trying to block the bereaved family members from coming together as well.

The mother of the late Choi Min-seok, who was killed in the Itaewon disaster, asked, "Can't the [bereaved families] meet each other? Why are you lying and saying there is no list of the bereaved families? Tell us why you tried to conceal it and whether it was concealed because you thought [by doing so] it would be hidden,” she demanded.

The bereaved mother also criticized the government’s way of setting up a memorial altar without memorial tablets and portraits of the deceased during the national mourning period.

"Why did they pay their condolences to the bereaved family in such a way? I am curious as to where and whom this idea came from to offer the condolence in such a way,” she asked.

The family members also demanded a thorough fact-finding process into the Itaewon disaster.

“Because there was no ascertainment of truth or proper punishment for those involved during the Sewol ferry disaster, there were no measures [put in place] to prevent a recurrence [of such a tragedy]. That is why our children lost their lives,” said Choi Seon-mi, mother of the late Park Ga-yeong.

“I held the hand of a mother who lost her child in the Sewol ferry disaster and told her that time heals all wounds, but I should not have comforted her in that way,” she continued.

“Only if the public remains angry until the end and continues to monitor the government’s work until the end, can the world become a place where the remaining children can keep on living,” she pleaded.

Two individuals who each lost a loved one in the tragic Itaewon crowd crush of Oct. 29 hold one another’s hand during a roundtable between lawmakers and bereaved families at the National Assembly in Seoul on Dec. 1. (Yonhap)

The bereaved family members expressed the intense grief they felt over losing their children.

One family member said, “I am in a state where I cannot do anything. I don't feel hungry even if I don't eat. I can't eat anything at all and the only thing I can stomach is hot water. I wouldn’t wish something so heartbreaking on anyone."

The bereaved family members made six demands to the parliamentary investigation committee that day, including 1) the building of a memorial space within the National Assembly; 2) the creation of a space within the National Assembly for communication with bereaved family members during the parliamentary investigation process; 3) allowing for the participation of various kinds of experts, recommended by the bereaved families, in the preliminary investigation; 4) an explanation of the progress being made with the parliamentary investigation; 5) guarantees that the bereaved families will have the opportunity to express their opinions before the start of the investigation be allowed to be witnesses and to make statements; and 6) that the location of a memorial space for the victims not be selected unilaterally by the central or local governments.

Woo Sang-ho, chairman of the parliamentary investigation special committee said, “By demonstrating the abilities of the committee members as much as possible, we will make efforts and promise to make the ardent appeals and wishes of the bereaved families come true.”

By Shim Wu-sam, staff reporter

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