Itaewon National Assembly, Opposition 3 Parties Adopt Sole Report... Sangmin Lee Accused (Comprehensive)

Final Day Adoption of Report After Ruling and Opposition Parties' Struggle
Ruling Party Members Leave, Chairman Says "Cannot Postpone Adoption"
Bereaved Families Collapse in Tears and Are Taken to Hospital

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] The National Assembly's Special Committee on the Investigation of the Itaewon Disaster, established to uncover the truth and prevent recurrence, adopted the final report on the 17th after much difficulty, solely by the three opposition parties. Along with this, it was decided to file charges against eight individuals, including Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, for perjury, refusal to appear, and refusal to comply with summons orders.

During the plenary meeting of the special committee held at the National Assembly that afternoon, opposition members from the three parties adopted the Itaewon disaster final report while ruling party members were absent.

The report states, "Despite being the head of the ministry responsible for disaster safety management, Minister Lee failed to implement the establishment and operation of the Central Accident Response Headquarters according to the law, as well as requests and recommendations for the establishment of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters through situation assessment meetings." It also includes, "The Ministry of the Interior and Safety secured the list of bereaved families and received a legal interpretation that it could be disclosed, yet Minister Lee perjured himself by claiming there was no such list and shifted all responsibility onto frontline fire station chiefs, causing secondary harm to victims and their families."

The report also notes that despite it being the first Halloween Day after the relaxation of COVID-19 social distancing measures, which was expected to attract large crowds, related agencies failed to establish safety measures, resulting in a failure to prevent the accident.

Previously, the opposition demanded that the final report explicitly include President Yoon Seok-yeol's apology and Minister Lee Sang-min's responsibility, but no agreement was reached due to opposition from the ruling party. The opposition's proposal to include both ruling and opposition parties' claims side by side was also rejected by the ruling party.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Kim Gyo-heung, the opposition special committee secretary, had earlier stated at the party's parliamentary meeting, "We requested to include both ruling and opposition claims in the final report, but the ruling party said it would be difficult to accept, so we will try to negotiate once more later. If it does not work out, the three opposition parties will proceed to adopt the report and file charges against those who committed perjury."

In response, all ruling party members of the special committee held a press conference at the National Assembly, rebutting, "The Democratic Party hopes the opposition will immediately stop filing perjury charges and cooperate to adopt an objective final report based on factual investigation." They pointed out that the basis for the opposition's perjury claims had already been clarified during the hearing process and that a motion to dismiss Minister Lee had already been processed.

Nevertheless, the special committee ultimately approved the perjury charges against eight individuals: Minister Lee Sang-min, National Situation Office Chief Han Oh-seop, National Police Agency Commissioner Yoon Hee-geun, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner Kim Kwang-ho, former Yongsan Police Station Chief Lee Im-jae, Yongsan Police Station 112 Operations Support Team Leader Jeong Hyun-wook, Seoul Metropolitan Government Administrative Deputy Mayor Kim Ui-seung, and former National Police Agency Situation 1 Officer Lee Yong-wook.

During the plenary meeting that day, lawmakers from both sides engaged in a tense exchange for over an hour through procedural speeches. The ruling party protested, saying, "No agreement has been reached between the ruling and opposition secretaries," while opposition and Special Committee Chair Woo Sang-ho declared, "Today is the last day, and we cannot delay adoption any longer," expressing their determination to proceed.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Chairman Woo then proposed mediation between the ruling and opposition secretaries, but as neither side yielded, he stated, "Negotiations between the secretaries seem to have little meaning," and expressed his resolve to make a final statement.

At that point, ruling party members said, "From our party's standpoint, it is difficult to accept a final report that unilaterally reflects the opposition's claims," and with the final remarks from ruling party secretary Lee Man-hee, who apologized to the public for failing to produce a good outcome together, all members left the meeting room.

During this process, People Power Party lawmaker Jo Su-jin opposed the witness charges and cited the opposition's allegations regarding Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon's 'Cheongdam-dong drinking party' as an example, which led to protests from the bereaved families. The families shouted in anguish at the ruling party lawmakers, "Sir, didn't you agree to cooperate?" and "What does adopting the report have to do with the Cheongdam-dong drinking party allegations?"

After the meeting, the bereaved families wept outside the meeting room door, saying, "Adopting the final report is unnecessary; what use is it when my son is dead?" One grieving family member lost consciousness and collapsed, prompting the dispatch of an emergency 119 ambulance.

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