"Come Out, Oh Se-hoon!" Bereaved Families Strongly Oppose Attempt to Clear 'Sewol Ferry Memory Space'

Seoul City Attempts to Organize Sewol Ferry Memorial Items
Bereaved Families Strongly Oppose... Clashes with Group Officials on Site
Democratic Party "Oh Se-hoon, Will You Ultimately Ignore the Bereaved Families' Earnest Requests?" Expresses Regret

On the afternoon of the 23rd, Seoul city officials and members of the 4·16 Solidarity confronted each other while trying to organize items stored in the 'Sewol Ferry Memorial Space' at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul. Photo by Yoon Seul-gi, intern reporter seul97@asiae.co.kr

[Asia Economy Reporters Seunggon Han and Seulgi Yoon] "Don't touch the children's memorial photos!" "Stop the surprise demolition!"

On the afternoon of the 23rd, a clash occurred between Seoul city officials trying to organize items at the 'Sewol Ferry Memorial Space' in Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, and the bereaved families opposing them. The families strongly protested, saying, "They tried to remove the children's memorial photos."

According to the 4·16 Solidarity, around 3:30 p.m. that day, officials from the Seoul City General Affairs Department visited the 4·16 Solidarity and notified them of their intention to organize photos and memorial items inside the Gwanghwamun Memorial Hall. The Solidarity criticized, "They had already deployed demolition personnel in front of the Sewol Ferry Memorial Space."

Yoo Kyung-geun, Executive Director of the Family Council, raised his voice, saying, "At 3:30 p.m. today, Seoul City rejected our demands through an official document and notified us that they would immediately demolish the Sewol Ferry Memorial Space, then launched the operation." However, since the families arrived at the site before the city officials, the organizing work was not carried out.

A representative of the Solidarity emphasized, "This is not just a simple memorial space; it is a symbolic place," adding, "This place is independent of any regime." They pointed out that the Sewol Ferry Memorial Space serves as a constant reminder of our society's safety negligence.

Democratic Party members, including Park Ju-min, have arrived at the site and are continuing related discussions. Photo by Yoon Seul-gi, intern reporter seul97@asiae.co.kr

As news spread that Seoul City planned to organize items in the memorial space, members of the Democratic Party of the Seoul Metropolitan Council arrived at the site and strongly protested to the city officials.

The Democratic Party of the City Council issued a statement titled "Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Will You Ultimately Ignore the Bereaved Families' Earnest Requests?" expressing regret and criticizing Mayor Oh.

The Democratic Party stated, "We have repeatedly proposed through various channels to Seoul City to keep all options open, form a consultative body, and take time to discuss," but "Seoul City keeps parroting that it refuses any consultation or dialogue through a consultative body based on maintaining the physical structure."

Activists and bereaved families related to the Sewol Ferry incident visited the memorial space and physically blocked Seoul city officials from taking items.

An organization representative expressed frustration, saying, "Even during the Park Geun-hye administration, they did not touch the children's photos." Another shouted, "We will stop them even if it costs our lives; our lives are not precious."

Vehicle of a 4·16 Solidarity member. Photo by Seulgi Yoon, intern reporter seul97@asiae.co.kr

Earlier, Seoul City notified that it would remove the 'Sewol Ferry Memorial Space' in Gwanghwamun Square to proceed with the square's restructuring construction, prompting opposition from the bereaved families.

The families, centered around the '4·16 Sewol Ferry Disaster Family Council,' '4·16 Solidarity,' and '4·16 Foundation,' formed the 'Sewol Ferry Memorial Space TF' and have been discussing plans to relocate the memorial space with Seoul City since July last year in relation to the Gwanghwamun Square restructuring construction.

During this process, the 'Sewol Ferry Memorial Space TF' maintained the position that while the memorial space could be temporarily relocated during construction, it must be reinstalled in Gwanghwamun Square after the construction is completed.

According to the 4·16 Solidarity, Seoul City announced that the demolition would begin on the 26th. The Solidarity stated, "The memorial space can be temporarily relocated during the construction period, and its location can be negotiated in line with the purpose of the Gwanghwamun Square restructuring after completion," adding, "Seoul City has not considered any alternatives nor pursued a meeting with the mayor, which is regrettable."