Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon visited the joint memorial altar for the victims of the Itaewon tragedy on the 26th, offered flowers and incense, and then looked at the portraits of the victims.
Gyeonggi Province is operating the ‘10·29 Disaster Online Memorial Space’ (https://www.gg.go.kr/memorial) to mark the first anniversary of the October 29 tragedy.
On the 27th, Gyeonggi Province announced that it had redesigned the online memorial space for user convenience on the first anniversary of the Itaewon disaster. The 10·29 Disaster First Anniversary Online Memorial Space includes the ‘Victims’ Records’ to remember the victims as they were in life, and summarizes Gyeonggi Province’s response on the day of the disaster as well as post-disaster measures such as the ‘Joint Social Disaster Drill.’ Additionally, ahead of the first anniversary, a feature allowing anyone to leave condolence messages is provided.
On the evening of the 26th, Gyeonggi Governor Kim Dong-yeon paid respects at the Seoul Itaewon disaster memorial altar. On the 27th, Governor Kim shared on social media (SNS), "I have not forgotten for a year how difficult and precious it is to spend ordinary days with family."
He continued, "The Presidential Office reportedly called the ‘10·29 Disaster First Anniversary Memorial Ceremony’ a ‘political rally.’ This is the part that the bereaved families I met are most outraged about," adding, "The disaster did not end that day. Politicizing the national grief is also an extension of the disaster," criticizing the act.
He then said, "Gyeonggi Province has prepared an online memorial space," and urged, "We must not forget but remember, and record every moment. Please gather the ‘power of memory’ to prevent another disaster."
Earlier, after the disaster last year, Gyeonggi Province created an ‘Online Memorial Message’ board on its website for residents who found it difficult to visit the joint memorial altars set up at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office in Suwon and the Northern Gyeonggi Office in Uijeongbu, allowing them to pay tribute. By March 15 of this year, the space had been visited by over 73,000 people who left 9,146 condolence messages.
For systematic management, on March 16 this year, Gyeonggi Province separated the existing memorial space in the form of a bulletin board on its website into an independent website, opening the online memorial hall ‘Memory and Solidarity,’ which is currently in operation.
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