[Itaewon Disaster] Yongsan District's Kwon Young-se "An Unacceptable Fatal Accident... Heavy and Devastating"

Minister of Unification: "Government, Seoul, and Yongsan Cooperation... Full Efforts to Manage the Incident"

President Yoon Suk-yeol is inspecting the Itaewon disaster site in Yongsan, Seoul, on the morning of the 30th. Minister of Unification Kwon Young-se (second from the right in the front row) is accompanying President Yoon.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hee-jun] Kwon Young-se, Minister of Unification, representing Yongsan-gu, Seoul, expressed his "heavy and devastated" feelings regarding the Itaewon crowd crush disaster.

On the 30th, Minister Kwon wrote on his Facebook account, "An unacceptable fatal accident occurred last night in Itaewon," adding, "My heart is very heavy and devastated."

He continued, "I offer my condolences and sympathy to those who lost their lives and their bereaved families in this tragic accident, and I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured," adding, "The government, Seoul City, and Yongsan-gu will cooperate to ensure thorough accident management and follow-up measures."

On the same day in the morning, Minister Kwon accompanied President Yoon Suk-yeol to visit the site of the Itaewon disaster.

Earlier, on the night of the 29th, the death toll from the crowd crush near the Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, was counted at 151 as of that morning. This is the worst loss of life since the Sewol ferry disaster in 2014, which claimed 304 lives.

The fire authorities reported that the accident resulted in 151 deaths and 82 injuries, totaling 233 casualties. The number of deaths was initially identified as 59 around 2 a.m. that day, but as many of the injured transported to hospitals passed away, the death toll surged to 149 by 6 a.m. Subsequently, two critically injured patients died during treatment, raising the total to 151. Among the deceased, 19 were foreigners.

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