Opposition Party: "Itaewon Tragedy, Those Responsible Must Be Held Accountable... It's Time for Thorough Investigation"

Opposition's Disappointment at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's Current Issues Report; "Will Address Each Issue One by One" After Condolence Period Ends

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Naju-seok and Park Jun-i] The opposition party expressed dissatisfaction with the "inadequate report" on the Itaewon disaster during the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee's briefing, which proceeded without even addressing urgent questions. The opposition declared their intention to hold those responsible for the disaster accountable.

Kim Gyo-heung, the Democratic Party's secretary of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, after listening to the briefing from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the National Police Agency, and the Fire Agency on June 1 regarding the Itaewon disaster, told reporters, "The reason for not conducting urgent questioning was to allow those responsible for this serious incident to finish handling the situation," adding, "Today's briefing lacked the causes of why this incident occurred, the current progress, and countermeasures. I am extremely disappointed."

Kim said, "Those who bear legal responsibility must be held accountable," and added, "There must be a sincere apology from the President regarding this disaster."

He stated, "The Yongsan-Itaewon Disaster Countermeasures Committee is being activated, and through an accurate investigation of the facts, issues will be raised," and "Next week, we will conduct urgent questioning to address each matter one by one."

Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Hae-sik criticized, "I believe today's briefing was a kind of excuse report claiming that the government and local governments bear no responsibility," and said, "The Itaewon Halloween festival is not a festival held only this year but has been ongoing for over ten years. Since it is a festival without an organizer and has legal shortcomings, the claim that the government is not responsible is truly like covering the sun with one's hand."

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung also emphasized the need to identify the cause. The leader said, "The most important task now is to investigate why my family, relatives, and neighbors had to die without knowing the reason, even though this was not a natural disaster," adding, "Only then can such an incident be prevented from happening again." He continued, "It is time to thoroughly investigate whether this accident was unavoidable and why it occurred."

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