[Itaewon Tragedy] Han Deok-su: "Providing One-on-One Close Support to Victims... Will Make Every Effort"

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is speaking at a situation review meeting related to the Itaewon crowd crush accident in Yongsan-gu, held at Seoul City Hall on the afternoon of the 30th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Prime Minister Han Duck-soo (Chairman of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters for the Itaewon accident) has promised maximum support for accident recovery, including closely supporting the bereaved families of the deceased, seriously injured victims, and responsible public officials by matching them one-on-one.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) on the day, Prime Minister Han inspected the accident response measures with related agencies at the Seoul Situation Center of the Central Disaster and Safety Situation Room in the Government Seoul Office Building at 6 p.m. and held focused discussions on recovery plans.

Prime Minister Han expressed deep condolences to the deceased and instructed related agencies to make every effort the government can to ensure thorough accident recovery.

The key is close support through one-on-one matching between accident victims and responsible public officials. First, seriously injured patients will be closely managed by matching one Ministry of Health and Welfare staff member per patient to support treatment. The deceased and their bereaved families will be supported in funeral arrangements by matching one local government official per family. The Ministry of Health and Welfare will also provide support. Additionally, if the bereaved families reside in provinces, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will collaborate with Seoul City to ensure no disruption in support.

Active support through one-on-one matching with related officials will also be provided for foreign victims' bereaved families. For the bereaved families of the accident victims, arrival visas will be issued at Incheon Airport to facilitate their entry into the country.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo (right) and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon entered the Seoul City Hall situation room on the afternoon of the 30th to check the situation related to the Itaewon crowd crush accident in Yongsan-gu.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Later, at 8 p.m., Prime Minister Han visited the Seoul City Recovery Headquarters and instructed Seoul City to "complete the one-on-one matching between (responsible public officials and) the families of the deceased by tonight." At this meeting, he emphasized, "Communication with the families should be the top priority," and requested, "Please proceed with the funerals by respecting the opinions of the bereaved families as much as possible, and check the operation status of cremation and other funeral facilities to prepare for any emergency situations."

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who welcomed Prime Minister Han, promised, "Since the government has designated a national mourning period until the 5th of next month, we will cancel non-urgent festival events and ensure solemn memorials are held," and added, "We will assign dedicated public officials to each bereaved family to support funeral procedures and provide psychological treatment to witnesses of the accident."

Meanwhile, Seoul City announced that on the morning of the 31st, joint memorial altars will be set up in front of the main entrance of Seoul Library at Seoul Plaza and in each autonomous district to allow the general public to participate in paying respects.

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