[Reporter’s Notebook] Disclosure of Victim List... Opposition Only Fuels Political Strife

On the 13th, a volunteer is organizing chrysanthemums and memorial messages left by citizens on the sidewalk in front of the Itaewon disaster site in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Image source=Yonhap News]

"It seems like impatience has caused trouble."

A Democratic Party official summed up the recent controversy over the disclosure of the Itaewon disaster victim list with this remark.

Recently, an online media outlet released the list of victims from the Itaewon disaster. They argued that the victims were abstracted into the number ‘158’ only, and that anonymizing them was an attempt to downplay the impact of the Itaewon disaster, which they claimed politicizes the tragedy.

However, this disclosure unexpectedly backfired. Although it was an anticipated step since the Democratic Party leadership had repeatedly emphasized the disclosure of the victim list, the issues were the ‘consent of the bereaved families’ and the ‘timing’ of the release.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The media outlet disclosed only the names of 155 victims who had been preliminarily compiled, noting that the number of seriously injured who later died was increasing. As of the 14th, when the list was released, the total number of victims was 158. By hastily releasing the list, the remaining victims were left to be mourned ‘in the shadows.’ The unilateral disclosure without the consent of the bereaved families immediately drew public criticism. Eventually, a farcical situation arose where about ten names were removed from the victim list ‘according to the wishes of the bereaved families.’

In incidents such as the Guui Station screen door accident on Subway Line 2, where a 19-year-old subcontractor employee died while working alone, and the stalking case involving a station attendant at Sindang Station, we did not know the victims’ names to mourn and pay tribute. This is why premature disclosure of victim lists is criticized for causing ‘political strife.’

The Itaewon disaster was clearly an accident caused by the state, which has the duty to protect the safety and lives of its citizens, failing to fulfill its role properly. The government cannot escape responsibility. However, before the grief of the bereaved families has even subsided, a third party’s arbitrary decision to disclose the list is a different matter. Unilateral action without consent is another form of violence.

The Democratic Party, which had emphasized the disclosure of the victim list within its leadership, is not free from responsibility in this matter. It is time for voices of self-reflection to emerge first, such as ‘It started from a text message sent by the deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute to Representative Moon Jin-seok, and was later disclosed by a specific media outlet (Representative Lee Won-wook).’

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