230,000 Visitors to Online Memorial Hall as of the 9th... Over 13,000 Tribute Posts
Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon is paying respects and laying flowers at the joint memorial altar for the Itaewon disaster in Gyeonggi Province on the 9th.
[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, emphasized the responsibility of public officials by paying respects every day for ten consecutive days after the installation of the 'Itaewon Disaster Gyeonggi Province Joint Memorial Altar.'
Governor Kim, along with Yeom Jong-hyun, Chairman of the Gyeonggi Provincial Council, Oh Byung-kwon, First Deputy Governor of Gyeonggi Province, Yeom Tae-young, Deputy Governor for Economic Affairs, and other senior officials of the provincial government, jointly paid respects at the joint memorial altars set up at the Suwon Gyeonggi Provincial Government Building and the Uijeongbu Northern Government Building, which were open until 10 p.m. on the 9th.
After paying respects, Governor Kim said, "As a member of the government and a public official, I feel deeply ashamed for failing to protect the lives and safety of our residents and citizens," adding, "Above all, the most important thing is to prevent such a tragedy from happening again, and although it must never happen, if such an incident does occur, we must do our utmost to respond and manage it effectively by having a system and mechanisms in place."
He continued, "We will announce the measures that can be implemented the soonest by tomorrow," promising, "We will ensure that the measures we create are more proactive and sincere than those of any other local government or the central government."
Governor Kim especially introduced the portraits of two victims in their twenties placed on the altar at the joint memorial altar after reading the numerous memorial post-it notes densely attached to one wall. At the request of the bereaved families, the province enshrined the portrait of one victim from the 7th and the other from the 9th at the joint memorial altar.
Governor Kim said, "We have enshrined two individuals from Seongnam and Bucheon according to the wishes of their families. One of them had a story of donating bone marrow to a father suffering from leukemia," and added, "Having over 150 people enshrined at the joint memorial altar might seem abstract, but with the portraits, learning their stories makes my heart even more sorrowful and ashamed."
Yeom Jong-hyun, Chairman of the Provincial Council, said, "What is heartbreaking is that after experiencing the tragedy of our young people, we coincidentally learned about each person's life journey. Outwardly, they appeared bright and lively, but behind that was the truly difficult and challenging life of youth," and stated, "Gyeonggi Province will do whatever it takes to protect the safety and lives of its 13.9 million residents. The Provincial Council will also unite and do its best in this process."
Gyeonggi Province will extend the operation of the joint memorial altar until today even after the national mourning period ends. As of 2 p.m. on this day, the number of visitors paying respects reached 2,651.
Additionally, since the afternoon of the 31st of last month, the province has been operating an online space for residents who cannot visit the joint memorial altar in person to pay their respects. Unlike the government building joint memorial altar, which ended operation on the 9th, the online memorial hall will continue to operate for the time being for residents who have not yet been able to pay respects.
The online memorial hall can be accessed by clicking the main banner on the Gyeonggi Province website, which links to the 'Itaewon Disaster Victims Online Memorial Hall' bulletin board. As of 2 p.m. on the 9th, over 230,000 people had accessed the site. The maximum simultaneous users reached 30,000. The memorial messages total about 13,000, including 4,055 via KakaoTalk.
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