hankyoreh

A family member of a victim of the crowd crush in Itaewon on Oct. 29 wipes away tears during a press conference outside of Seoul City Hall jointly organized by Minbyun-Lawyers for a Democratic Society and the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy calling for an investigation into the Seoul metropolitan government for its lack of preparation for such a disaster. (Yonhap)

Since the Yoon Suk-yeol administration and the ruling People Power Party (PPP) are still hesitant to launch an investigation or punish the responsible parties 40 days after the deadly crowd crush in Itaewon on Oct. 29, the bereaved families and the civil sector are taking action on their own to criticize the government for neglecting its duty.

On Saturday, the family members of 89 victims of the Itaewon tragedy will be holding a meeting to establish the tentatively named Association of Families of Oct. 29 Itaewon Tragedy Victims. That comes after the official launch on Wednesday of the Oct. 29 Itaewon Tragedy Citizens’ Action Group, in which 176 civic groups are involved.

Rage directed at the government is what brought together the various families of the victims into one large group. Victims’ families complain that they’re still waiting on a proper police investigation, parliamentary probe, ministerial resignation and an apology from the president.

When the police launched their investigation with the pledge to identify those responsible for the Itaewon tragedy, there were doubts about whether the police could properly investigate members of the force. Now that investigation has gotten bogged down.

More than a month into the investigation, the special investigations office at the National Police Agency requested an arrest warrant against former Yongsan Police Station chief Lee Im-ja, only for a court to deny the request. That has led to questions about how well the investigation is being handled.

“The question remains why the special investigations office didn’t adequately raise concerns about evidence being destroyed,” the association of victims’ families said.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly's parliamentary investigation into the Itaewon disaster, aimed at finding the structural cause of the disaster and preparing measures to prevent a recurrence, has been at a standstill for 15 days.

In fact, a third of the entire 45-day time period for the parliamentary investigation has already passed without yielding any results. Instead, extreme confrontation has continued between the ruling and opposition parties, with the PPP not even showing up to the meeting with bereaved families at the National Assembly because of its vehement opposition to the DP’s proposal to have Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min dismissed.

Despite the dire state of things, there is even talk about an all-out boycott of the parliamentary investigation among the PPP.

As if trying to quell demands for their replacement within the ruling party, Lee Sang-min, who is in charge of disaster and safety management, and National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun, who was asleep at a campsite at the time of the disaster and failed to receive a report about the situation, are both taking an uncompromising stance against the truckers strike.

165 civic organizations, including those related to the Sewol ferry disaster and other social disasters, kick off the activities of the Oct. 29 Itaewon Tragedy Citizens’ Action Group at the Korea Ecumenical Building in central Seoul on Dec. 6. (Kim Myoung-jin/The Hankyoreh)

Chang Je-won, a PPP lawmaker who also headed the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee and enjoys close ties with Yoon, brought up the dismissal of the special investigations office’s arrest warrant application against Lee Sang-min and, standing up for him, asked, “Is it reasonable to hold Lee Sang-min accountable and impeach him?”

Regarding the opposition’s calls for Lee’s dismissal, Yoon argues that revealing the truth should come first. Nevertheless, the president has not gotten involved at all with the parliamentary investigation, which has been stifled by the ruling party’s non-cooperative stance, and instead said the investigation is the task of the National Assembly.

In fact, the president seems to be encouraging Lee and sending clear signals that he won’t be replaced by, for example, inviting him to the official presidential residence.

Meanwhile, the Association of Families of Oct. 29 Itaewon Tragedy Victims put forth the following demands: 1) the government should announce that the responsibility for the Itaewon disaster lies with the central and local governments and the police, 2) a genuine apology by the president should be made, 3) investigate and reveal responsibility for the disaster without any restrictions, 4) guaranteed participation of victims during the investigation process, 5) support for communication of the victims of the disaster, 6) measures regarding the commemoration of the victims should be set up, and 7) to prevent secondary victimization, the government must state an official position and set up specific relevant measures.

The Oct. 29 Itaewon Tragedy Citizens’ Action Group is demanding fundamental measures to prevent a recurrence of such a disaster and to create a safe society, in addition to the demands made by the bereaved families.

“In a situation where President Yoon Suk-yeol is refusing calls to dismiss Lee Sang-min but instead is lending him protection, we have no choice but to be deeply concerned whether this police investigation will be one with no restrictions, as the police itself stated. The demands for the dismissal of Lee Sang-min, which the majority of the public agrees with, is not a political dispute but constitutes a political obligation at the least,” the Oct. 29 Itaewon Tragedy Citizens’ Action Group said.

The two groups plan on holding a civic memorial service to commemorate the victims and comfort the bereaved and survivors in front of Exit 1 of Itaewon Station at 6:00 pm on Dec. 16, which will mark 49 days since the Itaewon disaster that claimed 158 lives.

By Ko Byung-chan, staff reporter

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