"Do Not Exploit the Tragedy for Political Gain"... National Assembly Turns into a Battleground Between Ruling and Opposition Parties After the 'Itaewon Tragedy'

Controversy Over List Disclosure, Negotiations for State Audit
Ruling and Opposition Parties Clash Even During Disaster Process
Bereaved Families "Are Victims Being Used as Negotiation Tools?"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] About a month has passed since the 'Itaewon Disaster.' Over the past month, heated debates have taken place in the National Assembly regarding the investigation of the incident's truth and accountability. Although the ruling and opposition parties reached a sudden agreement to launch a parliamentary inquiry, criticism persists that the tragedy is still being exploited for political conflict as both sides continue their offensive campaigns.

The opposition Democratic Party of Korea has been consistently displaying messages related to the disaster in meeting rooms for about a month, under the slogan "Itaewon Disaster Parliamentary Inquiry for Truth Investigation and Punishment of Those Responsible." In particular, the opposition emphasizes the disclosure of the victim list to the government alongside the punishment of responsible figures such as Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min. On the 9th, Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung publicly demanded the release of victims' names and photos during the party's Supreme Council meeting. After public opinion worsened, the party withheld its stance, but recently the leadership has brought the issue back to the surface.

Earlier, on the 14th, the internet media outlet 'Citizen Press Mindeulle' posted a poster on its homepage containing the real names of 155 out of 158 victims. On the same day, the Catholic Priests' Association for Justice held a memorial mass and called out the victims' names, and the YouTube channel 'The TamSa' also released the list.

However, this was done without the consent of the bereaved families and cannot be seen as reflecting their position. While some family members have expressed opinions demanding the disclosure of the list, the consent of all families is necessary. The government is currently collecting the opinions of the bereaved families. For this reason, some criticize the Democratic Party for exploiting the disaster for political conflict.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Afterward, Leader Lee again emphasized the need to disclose the list, saying at the Supreme Council meeting on the 23rd, "They hid the names and faces and even made the condolence calligraphy invisible, pushing mourning and consolation to the back burner." On the same day, Supreme Council member Jeong Cheong-rae stated, "The 10.29 disaster list must be disclosed and a memorial space established," adding, "Did the government, which hastily created a nameless, photo-less incense altar without asking or obtaining consent from the bereaved families, commit secondary harm?"

In response, the ruling People Power Party rebutted these claims. Lee Man-hee, chairman of the People Power Party’s 'Itaewon Accident Investigation and Safety Measures Special Committee,' said at a meeting, "At the Democratic Party Supreme Council meeting, Leader Lee Jae-myung argued for the necessity of disclosing victims' names and portraits, and five days later, the victim list was released," adding, "It cannot be denied that this was done in close communication with the Democratic Party rather than as an independent act by civic groups or the media."

During the adoption process of the parliamentary inquiry plan, the ruling and opposition parties faced several near failures due to differences in positions. After difficulties, both sides agreed to conduct the inquiry, but the ruling party requested that the Presidential Office’s National Situation Room and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office be excluded from the investigation, causing the first plenary meeting of the special committee to be disrupted.

On the 17th, memorial messages and flowers were placed at the Itaewon disaster site in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

In this situation, the bereaved families expressed anger, demanding that the tragedy not be used for political conflict. The families of the late Lee Ji-han and Song Chae-rim, victims of the Itaewon disaster, said in an interview with CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the morning of the 24th, "Should we call this a negotiation or an agreement?" and "How can the Itaewon disaster be used as a bargaining tool? The fact that victims are being used as bargaining chips made us angry," expressing their frustration.

In fact, after the ruling and opposition agreement, when the parliamentary inquiry plan was submitted to the National Assembly plenary session, some 'pro-Yoon' members of the People Power Party openly voted against it. Jo Jung-hoon of the Transition Korea party, who voted against it, cited 'political conflict' as the reason. He said, "Politics must grit its teeth and not exhaust the disaster as a subject of political conflict," adding, "One side is trying to dilute interest in the Daejang-dong investigation targeting the party leader, and the other side is negotiating to pass the budget under a minority government. I want to ask whether the deceased and victims were truly at the center of this."