SEOUL, The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung vowed Sunday to get to the truth about the deadly Itaewon crowd crush and work to hold those accountable to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
Lee made the pledge during a memorial event held to mark the first anniversary of the deadly crowd crush that took the lives of 159 people during Halloween celebrations in the popular hangout district of Itaewon.
“It has been one year since 159 universes, and 159 worlds collapsed, but nothing has changed. The desperate appeals by the bereaved families are again ignored today, and those in power are only bent on covering up the truth,” Lee said in a speech at Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall.
“We will reveal the truth by quickly passing special legislation on the Itaewon tragedy, hold those responsible accountable and make sure something like this won’t happen again,” Lee said.
Lee lashed out at officials of the Yoon Suk Yeol government for not showing up at the memorial event, promising that the DP will “take the lead in ensuring that no more lives will be lost due to the state’s incompetence and irresponsibility.”
Lee was among the dozens of DP members and other politicians present at the event.
As many as 10,000 people and grieving family members of the victims filled the square in central Seoul for the memorial event to cherish the memories of the deceased.
Lee Jeong-min, head of the council representing the victims’ families, directed his speech at Yoon.
“I’d like to tell President Yoon Suk Yeol. This time of comforting the sad hearts and painful moments of losing a family member, looking back on the time of nightmare we had a year ago, and remembering our children is by no means a political rally,” Lee said.
The presidential office said earlier Yoon will not be attending the memorial event, citing what it called the “political nature” of the gathering.
Some participants hurled insults and booed at a group of ruling People Power Party (PPP) members and Ihn Yohan, head of the PPP’s innovation committee, as they were leaving the venue midway through the event.
Officials from diplomatic missions of countries whose citizens were among the victims also attended the gathering, including Iran’s top envoy to Seoul, Saeed Koozechi.
Five Iranians were killed in the crowd crush, the highest death toll for a foreign country.
Source: Yonhap News Agency