BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) According to Korea International Broadcasting Station (KBS), on Feb. 5, the 100th day since the large-scale stampede in Itaewon occurred, the South Korean National Assembly held a memorial service.
The survivors of the victims, the leadership of the ruling and opposition parties, and the Speaker of the National Assembly Kim Jin-pyo attended.
The survivors urged the opening of a formal joint mourning hall in Seoul Square, as well as the enactment of a special law and the establishment of an independent investigation agency.
Li Zhongche, the representative of the Association of Survivors, said that the survivors experience hundreds or thousands of heartbreaks every day, and hope that the government and the opposition can work together to ensure that such accidents will never happen again.
Data map: On October 31, 2022, local time, the alley near the site of the stampede in Itaewon, Seoul was cordoned off.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Xu
Jin Yihui, a witness to the accident who attended the state investigation hearing, emphasized that the only cause of the accident was the failure to manage the crowds, and there is an urgent need to find out the truth.
National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo said at the memorial service that although the national affairs investigation has ended, there is no time limit for formulating countermeasures, and he will work together to solve institutional problems.
Chung Jin-seok, Chairman of the Extraordinary Countermeasures Committee of the National Power Party, said that the government and the ruling party bear unlimited responsibility for social accidents, and will thoroughly investigate the cause and formulate countermeasures.
At about 23:45 local time on November 1, 2022, South Korean people mourned the victims of the Itaewon stampede at a collective incense place in Seoul Square.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Xu
Lee Jae-myung, representative of the Democratic Party of Korea, expressed regret that President Yin Xiyue did not attend the memorial service.
On the evening of October 29, 2022, a stampede occurred in Itaewon, Seoul, South Korea.
A total of 158 people were killed and 196 injured in the accident.
Since then, in December, a survivor of the accident chose to commit suicide due to psychological trauma, and the final death toll was 159.
On January 13, 2023, the Itaewon Accident Special Investigation Headquarters of the Korean National Police Agency announced the results of the accident investigation and handed over 23 civil servants involved in the case to the prosecution, of which 6 were arrested.