Bar Association Forms Large-Scale Legal Support Team for Itaewon Disaster Compensation Lawsuits
Lee Jong-yeop, President of the Korean Bar Association, is being interviewed by Asia Economy on March 26 last year. / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@
View original image[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The Korean Bar Association (KBA) is forming a large-scale legal support team to assist the families of victims of the Itaewon tragedy with state compensation lawsuits.
On the 14th, the KBA held an executive board meeting at the Korean Bar Association Hall in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and resolved to officially launch the "10·29 Itaewon Tragedy Special Committee."
The special committee plans to focus on legal support such as consultations on state compensation liability and filing lawsuits, citing negligence including inadequate response and dereliction of duty by the government, Seoul City, Yongsan-gu, and other local governments related to the tragedy.
The KBA stated, "While state agencies and local governments failed to perform their basic duties, many precious young lives were lost, leaving irreversible human casualties and national wounds. The state and local governments, which should have overseen the overall management, must bear legal responsibility beyond command accountability."
Since the tragedy occurred due to a large crowd gathering intensively in a specific area, the KBA explained that this falls under "damage to life or property requiring response at the national or local government level" as stipulated in Article 2, Clause 1 of the Enforcement Decree of the Disaster and Safety Act.
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The KBA added, "The special committee will focus on legal support such as consultations on state compensation liability and filing lawsuits related to the government's and local governments' inadequate response and dereliction of duty." The chairperson will be former KBA President Ha Changwoo, and the committee will be composed of about 100 members in cooperation with the Seoul Bar Association.
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