"Who Can Understand the Heart of a Child Who Must Keep Their Father's Urn at Home?"

Bereaved Families at Saerona Memorial Hall 'Scream' at Gwangju City Hall

The Saerona Submersion Accident Countermeasures Committee is urging compensation for damages and the punishment of related parties, including the head of the Saerona Memorial Hall, through a statement in front of Gwangju Metropolitan City Hall on the morning of the 23rd.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Gwan-woo] "Who can understand the heart of a child who has no choice but to keep their father's urn at home instead of placing it in a proper place? I am an unfilial daughter."

On the morning of the 23rd, Lee Eun-joo, a bereaved family member affected by the flooding at Saerona Memorial Hall, who visited Gwangju City Hall, sighed before uttering these words.

Lee said, "I am sorry as a child to my father and as a wife to my husband," adding, "I thought that raising our voices like this is what we can do for the deceased. I ask Gwangju City to take measures so that the bereaved families no longer suffer."

The Saerona Flooding Accident Countermeasures Committee, composed of bereaved families affected by the Saerona Memorial Hall damage, issued a statement in front of Gwangju City Hall on the same day, urging the city to "immediately punish the Saerona Memorial Hall representative and other responsible parties who neglected the flooding damage."

They stated, "Today marks the 77th day since the accident occurred," and claimed, "Saerona has consistently shown an uncooperative attitude as if the flooding accident was someone else's problem. After the flooding damage, the bereaved families were even left to handle the accident response, cleanup, and aftermath on their own."

They continued, "Accidents do not discriminate victims. While the Saerona flooding accident is the first, it will never be the last," emphasizing, "We demand responsible countermeasures from Gwangju City and the government to prevent a second victim from occurring."

They also said, "It has been concluded that the cause of the accident was a combination of human error and natural disaster," and urged, "Saerona should acknowledge their fault and prepare appropriate compensation and restoration plans for the bereaved families."

Meanwhile, due to heavy rains in Gwangju this summer, the privately operated Saerona Memorial Hall near the Yeongsan River was flooded, causing over 1,800 urns stored in the basement to be submerged in water.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.