"No action for 50 minutes... Left standing in a fainted state"

Representative of Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families Association, KBS Interview
"Whether the report was ignored or not made..."

"I live every day with the determination to thoroughly investigate the truth so that I am not ashamed in front of the children we lost first."

Lee Jeong-min, Acting Representative of the '10·29 Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families Association,' said this in an interview with KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs' on the 17th. It has been 200 days since the Itaewon disaster occurred on October 29 last year, but he expressed frustration that nothing has been revealed regarding the suspicions surrounding that day.

Acting Representative Lee Jeong-min claimed, "On the day of the disaster, the most suspicious part is that from 10:34 PM, our victims began to faint while standing. At the scene, about 50 members of the narcotics investigation team were dispatched and witnessed the situation firsthand."

Itaewon Disaster Site / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Acting Representative Lee Jeong-min pointed out, "If they witnessed the situation, they must have reported it to their superiors and said that urgent action was needed due to the emergency," adding, "but no action was taken for 50 minutes. The victims were just left standing and fainted for 50 minutes without any intervention."

He said, "Whether the report was ignored or not made at all has not been confirmed yet, which is a major suspicion we hold."

The reason many victims died in the Itaewon disaster is said to be because the golden time to save lives was effectively neglected. Acting Representative Lee Jeong-min explained, "According to the testimonies of the bereaved families, there were children whose pulses were still beating at that time. They said their children’s pulses were still beating. So, the claim that the golden time had passed does not make sense at all."

He added, "Because rescue was not carried out quickly, more victims died and more survivors developed trauma," and "if proper rescue had been done, lives could have been saved and measures could have been taken, but because those measures were not properly implemented, victims were neglected and died, resulting in more casualties. Therefore, the responsibility cannot be simple."

On the afternoon of the 15th, one day before the 200th day since the October 29 Itaewon tragedy, citizens visited the Itaewon Tragedy Memorial Altar set up at Seoul City Hall to pay their respects. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Acting Representative Lee Jeong-min also shared his views on the public perception of the Itaewon disaster victims.

"Many people say things like, 'They died while out having fun, so why should the government care?' Those words are very hurtful. The space called Itaewon was created for people to come and enjoy themselves. It was designated as a tourist special zone to attract many visitors. It is a place where many young people go, and it is the only place in the country where you can experience multicultural aspects. Young people really like it and visit often. If people say, 'Why go there to have fun?' then all tourist special zones should be abolished, and people should be discouraged from going out. Such statements are completely contradictory. I hope people speak with an accurate understanding of the situation."

Acting Representative Lee Jeong-min stated, "Being out here on the streets like this is very difficult for us and painful for the families. We want the special law to be passed quickly so that we can return to our daily lives, and only when the truth is uncovered can future recurrence be prevented."

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