[Reporter’s Notebook] Where the Elderly Gentleman Ultimately Went

On the morning of the 22nd, in front of Noksapyeong Station in Seoul at Itaewon Plaza, an elderly man wearing a mustang jacket looked around in confusion. Within the narrow plaza, the Itaewon disaster memorial altar and the conservative group Shin Jayu Yeondae's tent were set up side by side. On one side, citizens were offering white chrysanthemums, while on the Shin Jayu Yeondae side, people watched passersby through the police officers surrounding them. Although the memorial altar volunteers and Shin Jayu Yeondae members did not make eye contact, a tense atmosphere was palpable between them.

The statements openly made by Shin Jayu Yeondae at Itaewon Plaza were somewhat difficult to understand. They shouted slogans like "Arrest Lee Jae-myung" or "Arrest Moon Jae-in," which were hard to connect to the Itaewon disaster. In the middle of the plaza, a banner reading "Yoon Seok-youl is doing well" was also hung. There was also a banner containing messages such as "Should the state also be responsible for the 317,680 deaths in 2021?" Seeing these, the bereaved families of the Itaewon disaster could not help but have many thoughts.

The apparent reason given by Shin Jayu Yeondae is "Do not force people to grieve." However, their actual purpose is political. Their primary goal seems to be to dilute the responsibility directed at the Yoon Seok-youl administration. Mentioning last year's death toll or the deaths and disappearances of Daeseongho and Changjinho during the Moon Jae-in administration accidents aligns with this context.

The Itaewon disaster was a tragic event in which 158 people lost their lives, but not everyone has to mourn. Similarly, some may believe there is no state responsibility. People have different thoughts, and expressing them is a matter of freedom. However, it is questionable whether such statements needed to be made in front of the memorial altar where the portraits of the victims are displayed. This is a place visited by bereaved families who lost their children overnight. On the 19th, two bereaved family members fainted due to the overwhelming secondary harm they experienced.

The elderly man who had been looking around then walked toward the memorial altar. Without a word, he held a white chrysanthemum in his hand and stood deep in thought in front of the portrait. What was he thinking? Meanwhile, the banner reading "Arrest Lee Jae-myung" fluttered in the cold wind beside the memorial altar.

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