Sung Il-jong "Lee Jae-myung Calls for Victims' Names to Be Disclosed, Silent on 'Jeong Jin-sang Search'"

Kim Ki-hyun "Stop 'Itaewon Pali'"

Sung Il-jong, Chairman of the Policy Committee of the People Power Party, is delivering opening remarks at the 'Comprehensive Measures for Narcotics Control' party-government consultation held at the National Assembly on the 26th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Sung Il-jong, the Policy Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, criticized Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, for insisting on revealing the names and portraits of the victims, saying, "Focus on the illegal presidential election fund allegations."

On the afternoon of the 9th, Sung posted on his social network service (SNS), "Even if the names and portraits of the victims are disclosed, the bereaved families should speak up. Why is Representative Lee making a fuss?"

He added, "The prosecution was conducting a search and seizure on his closest aides, but why is there not a single word about that? If he is confident, shouldn't he also clarify his position on that?" He pointed out, "It is truly regrettable to use a tragic safety accident as an opportunity to talk about candlelight protests. The tragic deaths of young people seem to be nothing more than a key driving force for Representative Lee to push for regime change."

Sung continued, "As judicial risks tighten around him, with his closest aides being arrested and searched, I hope he refrains from exploiting the Itaewon disaster as a candlelight protest," and earnestly hoped, "I sincerely hope there will be no more attempts to politically exploit the victims of the Itaewon disaster."

Kim Ki-hyun, a lawmaker from the same party, also strongly criticized Representative Lee through SNS, saying, "Stop exploiting the tragic deaths as a tool for political strife, the 'Itaewon peddling'." He urged Lee to "first disclose the criminal allegations surrounding himself."

On the same day, at the Supreme Council meeting in the morning, Representative Lee said, "In what disaster does the entire nation offer incense and condolences without knowing the names or faces?" He added, "Unless the bereaved families oppose, the names and portraits should naturally be disclosed, and sincere mourning should take place."

At a press meeting immediately after the Supreme Council meeting, he raised his voice, saying, "According to general funeral customs, when someone dies, it is the principle and common sense to enshrine the deceased's memorial tablet and portrait, and to hold memorial services and incense offerings." He emphasized, "From the government's perspective, when a disaster occurs, it is only right to obtain the consent of the bereaved families to ensure proper mourning and condolences."

He continued, "Nevertheless, it is strange that until now, there have been no photos of the incense offering sites and no knowledge of who died. Isn't there an intention behind this?" He said, "For proper mourning, it is necessary to obtain the consent of the bereaved families, collect the victims' names and photos, and hold a proper memorial."