Opposition's 'Victim List' Controversy... Ruling Party: "Are Those Who Cried 'People First' the Ones to Speak?"

On the 7th, citizens are paying tribute to the victims at the joint memorial altar for the Itaewon disaster victims set up at Noksapyeong Station Plaza in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] On the 8th, criticism from ruling party lawmakers followed the claim within the Democratic Party of Korea that "the full list and photos of the victims of the Itaewon Halloween accident should be disclosed to create a memorial space."

On the same day, Jang Je-won, a member of the People Power Party, criticized via his social network service (SNS), saying, "Are they pursuing political gain even if it causes more pain to the bereaved families and the public? Is this what people who always shout 'People First' would do?"

He added, "I want to convey the message that even if you cannot be a good person, you should not become a monster," and said, "Now that I know the true intentions of the Democratic Party, demands such as the resignation of Prime Minister Lee Jae-myung and national reform, which the Democratic Party leader is advocating, appear to be nothing but political maneuvers."

Lawmaker Jang said, "In the end, are they not trying to use the tragic deaths of the Itaewon disaster victims as an opportunity to overcome their own judicial risks?" and added, "They are not creating a memorial space but an ‘Lee Jae-myung bulletproof space.’"

Another member of the same party, Kwon Seong-dong, also criticized, saying, "I cannot contain my anger at the Democratic Party’s behavior of trying to exploit even the deaths of the people as a tool for political strife," and added, "As soon as they face others' deaths, they coldly calculate political gains and losses. Once the calculation is done, they turn the emotion of sorrow into passionate anger and start political battles."

Kim Ki-hyun said, "The Democratic Party, which once profited from the ‘Sewol ferry exploitation,’ is now trying to divide the people again with the ‘Itaewon exploitation’ and inflict irreparable wounds on the bereaved families," and added, "I don’t know how they can shamelessly commit such despicable acts while wearing the guise of humanity."

Kim Byung-min, a member of the emergency committee, also pointed out via SNS, "It is truly unbelievable to see the scene where Lee Yeon-hee, deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute, the think tank of the Democratic Party, sent a message to Democratic Party lawmakers," and said, "What is even more shocking is that they tried to use the bereaved families, who are grieving the loss of their loved ones, as political tools."

He said, "What exactly do they hope to gain by using all means to disclose the full list and photos of the disaster victims and fill the entire media space?" and added, "If the Democratic Party feels a heavy responsibility as a public party, they must thoroughly reveal the full details of the outrageous remarks made by Deputy Director Lee, who caused controversy with inhumane behavior, before the public and hold her accountable accordingly."

Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, also said at the morning floor meeting on the same day, "This is not only a violation of the law that fundamentally regulates confidential investigations but also a disgraceful act that politically exploits the grief of the bereaved families," and added, "It is known that most of the Itaewon victims’ families do not want personal information disclosed, so I hope the Democratic Party respects the wishes of the bereaved families."

The controversy over the disclosure of the ‘victims’ list’ arose earlier on the 7th when a Telegram message exchanged between Moon Jin-seok, chairman of the Democratic Party’s Strategic Planning Committee, and Deputy Director Lee was captured by the media cameras and made public during a full meeting of the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee. Deputy Director Lee argued that since the mourning period had ended, the full list and photos of the victims should be secured to prepare a memorial space.

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