"Do You Remember the Pohang Train Accident That Killed 45? Gyeongbuk Provincial Council Member Seo Seokyoung Holds Memorial Event for 10 Years"

"I will always do my best to live so that the sacrifices of my friends are not in vain."

On the morning of the 18th, at 10 a.m., in front of the memorial monument erected at Yugang Crossing in Yeonil-eup, Pohang-si, Gyeongbuk Provincial Assembly member Seo Seokyoung (64) became emotional and repeatedly pledged, "I will always serve the residents of the province while remembering our neighbors who live in hardship, so that the sacrifice of the 45 souls who died in the accident over 50 years ago will not be in vain."

Seokyoung Seo, a member of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Assembly, is sitting in front of the memorial stone commemorating the 45 victims who died in the Pohang train accident 51 years ago.

On this day, Assemblyman Seo held a memorial ceremony attended by about 50 people, including the bereaved families and colleagues of the victims who died in the accident.

At around 7:15 a.m. on May 16, 1973, a commuter bus collided with a Bidulgi-ho train bound for Dongdaegu at Yugang Crossing in Yeonil-eup, Nam-gu, Pohang-si, along the Hyeongsan River. In this accident, 45 out of about 80 students on the bus lost their lives.

At the time, Assemblyman Seo, then a 14-year-old middle school student, was on the accident bus but miraculously survived. After many years, upon becoming the president of the Jamyeong Elementary School alumni association in Pohang, he erected a memorial monument in 2015 and has held annual memorial ceremonies since then.

"All my friends died in that accident, and I was left alone. For over 40 years after the accident, no memorial ceremonies were held. Thinking that this could not continue, I saved two months' salary?7 million won?when I was a Pohang City Hall official and used it to erect the memorial monument."

Assemblyman Seo said, "After all my friends died and I survived by a miracle, I was able to serve 30 years as a public official and even become a Gyeongbuk Provincial Assembly member thanks to the protection of the souls who died in that accident. I will become a politician who is cleaner than anyone and who always thinks of the residents," and added, "It is my wish that for the 60th anniversary of the tragedy, we can raise about 100 million won and hold a grand memorial ceremony."