Itaewon Tragedy Victims' Families Hold First Press Conference: "How Can We Let Go Without Knowing the Cause of Death?"

On the 22nd, in the main conference room of the Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun) in Seocho-gu, Seoul, the bereaved families of the Itaewon disaster were crying out loud during a press conference where they expressed their feelings and demands. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The bereaved families of the Itaewon disaster victims gathered together for the first time to hold an official press conference, expressing their sorrowful hearts.

On the morning of the 22nd, the bereaved families held a press conference hosted by the "Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun) 10·29 Itaewon Disaster Truth Investigation and Legal Support Task Force (TF)" in the large conference room on the basement first floor of the Standard Building in Seocho-gu, Seoul, demanding thorough government measures to prevent recurrence and punishment of those responsible. This was the first time the bereaved families held an official press conference together, 24 days after the disaster.

Lee Jong-gwan, who lost his daughter Mina, said she was an ordinary child attending the Korea National Open University’s Department of Computer Science while working during the day, and tearfully said that every night it felt like his daughter would open the door and come in. He criticized, "The beginning of this disaster and tragedy was the failure to properly manage the crowd of 130,000 people," adding, "The fact that the police did not deploy the riot police on the day shows that they were focused not on the safety of ordinary citizens but on managing protests or security duties."

He also lamented, "After the disaster, the government neither formed a gathering of the bereaved families nor secured a space for psychological stability," and said, "I wanted to discuss creating a joint memorial hall with other bereaved families, but it was only after 17 days since the disaster that I was able to meet a few bereaved families after much inquiry."

The mother of the deceased Nam Hoon Lee showed her son’s death certificate and expressed her anger, saying, "How can I send off my son without knowing the cause, place, or time of death?" and asked, "Does this make any sense?"

"Even now, at 5:30 a.m. without fail, the alarm my son set to go to work rings," she sobbed, "My son, who endured waking up early and worked hard, is no longer by my side, and I can no longer hear his voice saved under speed dial number 3."

Since forming the TF, Minbyun has legally represented 34 bereaved families upon their requests. They held two meetings with the families and established six demands to the government: ▲a sincere apology ▲strict and thorough accountability without any sanctuary ▲guaranteeing victims’ participation in truth and responsibility investigations ▲active support including communication assurance and humanitarian measures for disaster victims ▲active measures for complete remembrance and memorialization of the victims ▲statements and concrete measures to prevent secondary harm.

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