Thousands of people gathered in Seoul on Sunday to mark the first anniversary of the deadly stampede that killed nearly 160 people during South Korea’s Halloween festivities. On the evening of Saturday, October 29, 2022, tens of thousands of people, mostly in their 20s and 30s, were out enjoying the post-pandemic celebrations in Itaewon, a cosmopolitan district of the capital.
But the jubilation quickly turned into a nightmare, when a gigantic stream of people poured into a narrow alley lined with bars and clubs. The weight of the bodies and the lack of effective crowd control led to the deaths of 159 of them. A year later, relatives of the victims are still demanding precise information on the circumstances of the tragedy. They also want court convictions and a review of crowd management procedures to prevent such a disaster from happening again.
“We didn’t want to become bereaved families”
“We didn’t want to become bereaved families,” Lee Jung-min, who lost his daughter in last year’s disaster and now leads the group of families, said at the gathering in Seoul. “Why do you think the 159 victims who lost their lives in the Itaewon disaster had no choice but to become stars in the sky? » she asks. “I would like to know if you think the government is not responsible. »
A police investigation revealed massive failures in the crowd management plan, as well as a botched and delayed response by emergency services. But she refrained from incriminating senior officials, and none of them were fired or resigned following the tragedy.
Lee Ju-hyun, a survivor, said she regularly visits the disaster site. “Some people say I’m lucky, but did 159 people have to die because they were unlucky? Was this a situation where luck had to determine life or death? » she asks in front of the crowd. “I will always be there with them,” she said, before adding: “Just because some people try to ignore it doesn’t mean it never happened.” “I will always stand here. I will continue to be a survivor.”
The saddest day
Around 10,000 people were expected at Sunday’s commemoration, the family group said ahead of the event, including relatives of the victims, survivors, activists, as well as MPs and government officials. Although invited, President Yoon Suk Yeol did not attend the event, which his office described as an opposition “political rally”, according to local media.
Instead, Yoon Suk Yeol attended a service commemorating the victims at a church in Seoul and expressed his condolences there. “This day last year was the saddest day of my life, and I believe all South Koreans feel the same way as I do,” Yoon Suk Yeol said during a speech at the church.
The South Korean president highlighted his government’s efforts to build a “safe” country over the past year and vowed to redouble efforts, adding: “We must ensure that the victims’ sacrifices will not be not wasted. »