President Yoon Pays Respects at Joint Memorial Altar in Seoul Plaza... Fifth Day of Mourning

Minister Lee Sang-min, involved in controversy over accompaniment, attends Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting... Yoon pays respects throughout national mourning period

President Yoon Suk-yeol visited the joint memorial altar for the victims of the Itaewon accident set up at Seoul Plaza on the morning of the 4th. /

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] President Yoon Suk-yeol visited the joint memorial altar for the fifth consecutive day on the 4th following the Itaewon tragedy to pay his respects. President Yoon has expressed his intention to continue offering condolences until the national mourning period ends on the 5th.

On that day, President Yoon arrived at the joint memorial altar set up at Seoul Plaza around 8:56 a.m. Only presidential office aides, including Chief Secretary Kim Dae-gi, Senior Secretary for National Planning Lee Gwansub, and Protocol Secretary Kim Ilbeom, accompanied him.

Despite growing calls for dismissal and controversy over Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min accompanying the condolences, he did not join on this day due to attending the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting in the morning. Earlier, the presidential office stated regarding Minister Lee’s accompaniment, "He is accompanying the condolences solely as the minister in charge of disaster response, with no other implications."

After offering flowers and incense, President Yoon observed a moment of silence for about 10 seconds. He also looked over photos and letters of the deceased placed on the funeral stage. As before, President Yoon did not write a separate condolence book and then moved to the Yongsan Government Complex. On the same day, President Yoon held a Korea-Germany summit with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the presidential office.

Voices calling for government accountability are growing louder. As the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and police’s inadequate responses are being revealed hour by hour, the Democratic Party of Korea is demanding a state audit along with the dismissal of Minister Lee and National Police Chief Yoon Hee-geun. Floor leader Park Hong-geun directly urged President Yoon, stating, "The reasons for dismissal are more than enough based on the careless police personnel deployment, poor response to 112 emergency calls, delayed reporting, and civilian surveillance, among other suspicions that have surfaced so far."

Currently, the presidential office has conveyed that it is "monitoring the situation a bit longer" regarding the possibility of an apology from the president. However, it is reported that internally, there is cautious anticipation that President Yoon may personally step forward once the mourning period concludes.

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