The City of Seoul Trying to Erase Memories of the Itaewon Crowd Crush

On February 5, the one hundredth day after the Halloween crowd crush in Itaewon, the police monitor the situation near the joint memorial center for victims of the crowd crush set up by a civic group and the group representing the victims’ families in Seoul Square Saturday. The Seoul metropolitan government notified the civic organizations that the city would execute the administrative order by proxy if they failed to voluntarily remove the facility by 1 p.m. February 6. Su Sung-il, Senior Reporter

On February 4, a civic group and the families of the Itaewon crowd crush victims set up a memorial center at Seoul Square marking one hundred days since the tragic event, but the Seoul metropolitan government told them to “voluntarily remove” the facility, warning that the local government would execute the administrative order by proxy if they did not. The bereaved families and civic organization have no plans to respond to the order, so considerable friction is expected.

On Saturday, a civic group and the group representing the victims’ families set up a memorial center at Seoul Square as they held a memorial event commemorating one hundred days since the Itaewon crowd crush. On February 5, the Seoul metropolitan government announced that they sent a written warning to the two organizers telling them “to voluntarily remove the memorial center by 1 p.m. February 6.”

A representative of the Seoul government said, “We went and delivered the letter around 7:30 p.m. February 4,” and explained, “The letter encouraged them to voluntarily remove the facility, but also stated that the city was reviewing legal procedures in case they didn’t.” He further said, “If the memorial center remains open for a prolonged period of time, we will consider a variety of measures.”

The city of Seoul had wanted the memorial center to be installed at Noksapyeong Station (Seoul Metro Line 6), near the site of the crowd crush, but the victims’ families wanted to set it up at Sejongno Park next to Gwanghwamun Square, so more citizens could remember the victims. They installed the memorial center at Seoul Square after the city government refused their proposal.

At 1 p.m. February 6, the victims’ families will hold a press conference in front of the memorial center at Seoul Square announcing their plan to continue operating the memorial center.

The Seoul government continued to display a hardline attitude on a series of events involving the Itaewon victims’ families, such as not permitting the use of the Gwanghwamun Square for the memorial event commemorating one hundred days since the Itaewon crowd crush.

But some criticized the city, arguing that such an attitude was excessive given that the Seoul metropolitan government was the local government directly responsible for the Itaewon disaster. In particular, they argued that the city sending the notice on the execution of the administrative order on the day the memorial center was installed was an attempt to evade responsibility and please the Yoon Suk-yeol government.

Bak (45), who visited the memorial center with his family Sunday, said, “It is important to abide by the regulations on Seoul Square, but I think it is right to set up the memorial center in a symbolic site.” Nam Yun-ho (46), who lost his nephew Song (21) in the Itaewon crowd crush, said, “It felt good, because more people came than they did at Noksapyeong Station.” He also asked, “Is it so difficult to install the memorial center in Seoul Square?” and said, “I don’t think the city of Seoul understands and empathizes with the pain suffered by the bereaved families.”

Seoul’s refusal to permit the installation of the Itaewon memorial center and attempt to tear it down is similar to the city’s stance on the memorial space for the Sewol ferry. The memorial space for the Sewol was originally set up in Gwanghwamun Square in April 2019, but the city temporarily relocated it to the Seoul Metropolitan Council in November 2021 claiming construction work to restructure the square.

Gwanghwamun Square was reopened to the public last August, but the memorial space for the Sewol has not been able to return to its original location in Gwanghwamun Square. The Seoul metropolitan government even notified that they would cut off power and water supply to the facility claiming that the operation period of the temporary location ended as of last June, practically expressing its intention to remove the facility. The April 16 Solidarity responded by launching a one-person rally to keep the memorial space for the Sewol on January 11.

A representative of the civic group for the October 29 Itaewon disaster said, “Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said he would help the bereaved families with whatever they needed claiming he shared the pain of the disaster in the parliamentary inspection of the Itaewon crowd crush. But he repeatedly made proposals that were far from what the victims’ families requested and has been framing the situation to make them look like they are refusing his offers.” He further said, “I have suspicions that the city of Seoul is trying to do what the Yoon Suk-yeol government has been doing--dividing the citizens on the Itaewon disaster.”