'Victims of Itaewon Tragedy' Seoul Joint Memorial, Over 117,000 Visitors Pay Respects in 6 Days

Operation of Memorial Altars Ends in 24 Autonomous Districts Except Yongsan-gu Noksapyeong Station Plaza

On the last day of the mourning period for the Itaewon tragedy, mourners are paying their respects at the joint memorial altar set up in Seoul Plaza on the 5th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] A total of 117,619 people paid their respects at the joint memorial altars set up across Seoul over six days to commemorate the victims of the Itaewon tragedy.

According to Seoul City on the 6th, as of 10 p.m. on the 5th, when the operation of the joint memorial altars except for the Noksapyeong Station Plaza altar in Yongsan-gu ended, 117,619 visitors were recorded at Seoul Plaza and the memorial altars in 25 autonomous districts.

At the Seoul Plaza altar, 38,283 people paid their respects, and 79,336 visited the altars in the 25 districts. The daily number of mourners at all altars was 19,187 on October 31, 20,632 on November 1, 21,237 on the 2nd, 15,654 on the 3rd, 15,486 on the 4th, and 20,023 on the 5th.

President Yoon Suk-yeol paid his respects at the Seoul Plaza altar on October 31 and from November 2 to 5. On the 1st, he visited the Noksapyeong Station Plaza altar in Yongsan-gu to pay respects. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, ministers from various departments, Jeong Jin-seok, Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, and others also visited the altars. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon paid respects at the Seoul Plaza altar on the 31st of last month and from the 2nd to the 5th of this month.

Diplomatic envoys stationed in Korea and religious figures also consecutively paid their respects. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, and Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jacek Sasin paid respects, and major figures from the diplomatic corps in Korea, business circles, academia, and religious communities also visited the altars.

Meanwhile, most of the memorial altars, including the Seoul Plaza joint altar, ended operations at 10 p.m. on the 5th, the last day of the national mourning period. The Noksapyeong Station Plaza altar in Yongsan-gu will continue to operate until the 12th.

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