Liberals to hold candlelight vigils for Halloween tragedy

Liberal activists are calling for candlelight vigils to honor the victims of the Itaewon tragedy and demand accountability for their deaths.

Liberal activists pay respects at a makeshift memorial altar for the victims of the Itaewon tragedy near Itaewon Station in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Thursday. They announced plans to hold a candlelight vigil to commemorate the victims on Saturday. [YONHAP]

Liberal activists are calling for candlelight vigils to honor the victims of the Itaewon tragedy and demand accountability for their deaths.

Members of one civic group, Candlelight Action, scheduled a vigil for Gwanghwamun Square in downtown Seoul on Saturday, which is the final day of national mourning for the victims of the crowd crush in Itaewon on Oct. 29 that killed at least 156 people, mostly youths in their 20s.

In a press conference Thursday in Yongsan District, central Seoul, the group said the vigil “will show that the Yoon Suk-yeol administration is ultimately responsible for the disaster.”

“The government is evading its responsibilities and finding scapegoats, inciting the public’s anger,” said Kim Min-woong, a co-chair of the group.

He stressed that the disaster could have been prevented.

The group previously announced through its YouTube channel that it had asked the Seoul city government for a permit to hold a vigil in Gwanghwamun and was awaiting a reply.

The group previously organized rallies demanding President Yoon Suk-yeol step down.

The minor Justice Party announced Thursday that it would hold daily candlelight vigils at 6:34 p.m. in Itaewon through Saturday with liberal civic groups dedicated to gender equality and helping young people.

Police transcripts released Tuesday showed that people had reported to the 112 emergency hotline serious concerns over the crowd in the narrow alleyway in Itaewon as early as 6:34 p.m., around four hours before the deaths occurred. That explains the timing of the Justice Party vigils.

“Eight years since the Sewol ferry accident, the country has not changed,” said Kim Chang-in, head of the Youth Justice Party, in a press conference at the National Assembly in western Seoul. “We demand a proper apology from and punishment for those in charge.”

On April 16, 2014, the Sewol ferry sank off the coast of Jindo County, South Jeolla, while traveling from Incheon to Jeju Island. Of the 304 who died in the disaster, 250 were students. President Park Geun-hye later faced fierce criticism for the delayed response to save those on board.

Kim compared the Itaewon tragedy and the “the inaction for four hours” to the delayed response to the Sewol disaster.

“The method of mourning is not determined by the state, but by us,” he added.

The Democratic Party (DP) also said Thursday it will submit a request for a parliamentary investigation into the Itaewon crowd crush.

“We can’t let the government conduct an investigation of itself,” said DP floor leader Park Hong-keun.

He called the Itaewon tragedy “a man-made disaster caused by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's overall incompetence.”

The DP has been demanding the sacking of National Police Agency chief Yoon Hee-keun and Interior Minister Lee Sang-min.

It is not clear if individual DP lawmakers will be joining the candlelight vigils. Some DP lawmakers participated in rallies calling for Yoon’s resignation two weeks ago, but the party remains divided on whether individual lawmakers partaking in such protests hurt the party image.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]