"Itaewon's Tears: 200 Days Have Passed..."... Special Law Processing in May Slips Away

Democratic Party "Aiming to Submit to June Plenary Session"
Submission to Public Administration Committee Difficult Due to People Power Party Opposition
Bereaved Families Urge "Please Devote Full Efforts in National Assembly"

It has been 200 days since the Itaewon tragedy on October 29, but the passage of the 'Itaewon Special Act,' which centers on establishing an independent fact-finding body and supporting victims, is being delayed due to opposition from the People Power Party. The Democratic Party of Korea promised to push for the special act at the June plenary session during a meeting with the victims' families.

According to a National Assembly Administrative Safety Committee official on the 20th, the Democratic Party had planned to submit the Itaewon Special Act for consideration at the plenary session scheduled for the 25th, but this was canceled. The official said, "We requested the People Power Party to submit it at the May full committee meeting, but they opposed it, so it was canceled," adding, "We plan to push for submission at the June plenary session."

The day before, Park Kwang-on, the Democratic Party floor leader, held a meeting with the victims' families of the Itaewon tragedy at the National Assembly to strengthen support for the special act. Park said, "On the 200th day since the tragedy, I recommend that the state actively engage in memorials and victim recovery," and criticized, "However, the government still thoroughly ignores the families' demands for a memorial space." He promised, "We will do our best to ensure that discussions on the Itaewon Special Act proceed urgently," and "The Democratic Party will unite to establish an independent investigative body to clearly reveal the truth of that day."

On the same day, Lee Jeong-min, acting representative of the Itaewon Tragedy Victims' Families Association, stated, "This bill is not a political dispute bill. The families are raising their voices with difficulty and pain because they lost their loved ones and because the state was not safe, so the families are appealing," and urged, "Please devote all your efforts in the National Assembly to ensure the bill passes quickly and promptly."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Six months after the tragedy, on the 20th of last month, the four opposition parties (Democratic Party, Justice Party, Basic Income Party, and Progressive Party) jointly proposed the 'Special Act on Guaranteeing the Rights of Victims of the October 29 Itaewon Tragedy, Fact-Finding, and Prevention of Recurrence,' which includes establishing an independent fact-finding body and victim support. However, the People Power Party has publicly opposed the bill, citing issues such as the method of recommending special investigation committee members and the scope of victims. Park Dae-chul, the People Power Party policy chief, stated at a floor strategy meeting after the bill was proposed, "The special act submitted by the four opposition parties has as many problems as the three Sewol-related special acts combined," and "Above all, the composition of the special investigation committee members is excessively biased."

Because of this, the special act has not even been discussed in the Administrative Safety Committee, the relevant standing committee. An opposition party official from the Administrative Safety Committee explained, "For the bill to be submitted to the standing committee, there must be an agreement between the chairperson and the ruling and opposition party floor leaders, but since the committee chair (Jang Je-won of the People Power Party) is from the ruling party, discussions are not happening," adding, "Once the chairperson changes to the opposition party member in June, there is a possibility for discussions to take place."

However, even if the special act passes the standing committee, it is highly likely to be blocked at the Judiciary Committee because its chair, Kim Do-eup, is affiliated with the People Power Party. For this reason, the Democratic Party must either reach a consensus with the government and ruling party or show a strong will to push the bill directly to the plenary session using the majority party's power for it to be passed. Therefore, the determination of the Democratic Party's floor leadership to pass the bill is expected to be crucial. Regarding this, Kim Gyo-heung, opposition floor leader of the Administrative Safety Committee, emphasized at a briefing after the victims' families meeting the day before, "We will do our best to submit the bill in June, complete consultations, and ensure the law passes."

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