Kim Young-jin: "A Verdict Where No One Is Held Responsible for the Deaths of 159 People"

"Accepting the Constitutional Court's Decision but Questioning Its Appropriateness"
To the Government and Ruling Party: "Deeply Reflect on the Essence of the Disaster"

Kim Young-jin, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said on the 26th regarding the Constitutional Court's dismissal of the National Assembly's impeachment motion against Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min the previous day, "I accept the ruling because the Constitutional Court has made a decision," but added, "It is necessary to consider whether an appropriate judgment was made given that the ruling resulted in no one being held responsible for the incident in which 159 young lives were lost, a social disaster."

On the same day, appearing on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' Rep. Kim said, "The ruling clearly pointed out that the Minister of the Interior and Safety, who is responsible for the safety of the people, was inadequate in both the prevention and response to the social disaster," and questioned, "If 159 citizens died and neither the President, the Minister of the Interior and Safety, the Commissioner of the National Police Agency, nor the Mayor of Yongsan District take responsibility, wouldn't the bereaved families and all citizens have doubts about what this incident truly is?"

Regarding the government and opposition party blaming the opposition for the dismissal of the impeachment motion, he countered, "There needs to be a deeper reflection on the essence of the October 29 Itaewon tragedy and consideration of why such an accident occurred and why 159 citizens lost their lives."

Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, who returned to duty after the Constitutional Court dismissed the impeachment motion, is presiding over an executive meeting at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in the Government Sejong Complex on the afternoon of the 25th. [Image source=Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Yonhap News]

Rep. Kim explained, "The Itaewon Halloween event was held annually, and although large crowds gathered, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Seoul City, fire department, police, and district office managed to control the situation without such a disaster occurring," adding, "This accident happened during the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, under Minister Lee Sang-min of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and Mayor Park Hee-young of Yongsan District."

He continued, "Then, why did the disaster occur under the Yoon Seok-yeol government despite similar crowds gathering in previous years without incident? We need to analyze this further, prepare countermeasures, and hold political and legal responsibility accordingly," he emphasized.

When asked by the host about the legal community's prevailing expectation that the impeachment would be difficult to accept even before the Constitutional Court's ruling, he replied, "If no one is held responsible for the tragedy that claimed 159 lives, is this appropriate within a democratic constitutional order? Whether the motion passes or fails, the procedural process of having the Constitutional Court make a ruling was necessary, which is why the impeachment trial was requested."

Regarding concerns that the dismissal of the impeachment might grant a pardon to the Blue House, the ruling party, and Minister Lee, he said, "It would have been appropriate for President Yoon Seok-yeol to dismiss or remove the Minister of the Interior and Safety," adding, "And before that, it would have been right for Minister Lee to resign politically and morally."

Rep. Kim further stated, "The impeachment trial request came from the failure to make such political choices and fulfill moral responsibilities," emphasizing, "The responsibility for political and moral accountability, as well as for properly preventing social disasters and working with bereaved families to prepare countermeasures afterward, still remains and will continue in the future."

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