Itaewon Tragedy Memorial Altar Moved from Seoul Plaza "A New Beginning"

Operating at Euljiro Burim Building until early November
Speaker Woo Won-sik: "Doing our best to establish the Special Investigation Committee"

The joint memorial altar for the Itaewon disaster has moved to a nearby building after being set up at Seoul Plaza for 1 year and 4 months.

On the 16th at 3 p.m., according to an agreement between the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the 10·29 Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families Association (Yugahyeop), and the Citizens' Countermeasure Meeting, the memorial altar "House of Stars," located indoors on the first floor of Burim Building in Euljiro 1-ga, Jung-gu, near City Hall, opened its doors.

On the afternoon of the 16th, portraits of the victims were handed over to the bereaved families at the joint memorial altar for the October 29 Itaewon disaster set up at Seoul Plaza. On the same day, the memorial altar was relocated from Seoul Plaza to the indoor first floor of Burim Building in Euljiro 1-ga.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Previously, the bereaved families had urgently set up a memorial altar in front of Seoul Plaza on February 4 last year, one day before the 100th day since the disaster, and had conflicts with the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Seoul viewed the altar as an illegal facility and demanded voluntary removal from the families, imposing compensation fees, and recently agreed on relocation.

The bereaved families carried the portraits of the victims from the Seoul Plaza altar, circled the plaza, and headed to the new memorial altar. They wiped away tears throughout and, upon seeing the new altar decorated with brightly smiling photos of their departed family members, they wept, calling out "Our baby." The families reaffirmed their determination to strive for uncovering the truth of the Itaewon disaster at this place.

Lee Jeong-min, the operating committee chair of Yugahyeop, said at the opening ceremony, "If the period from Noksapyeong to the Seoul City Hall altar was the first half of our struggle, from now until the day the truth is revealed will be our second half of the struggle," emphasizing, "We must unite our strength for a proper truth investigation. We must do our best to uncover the truth, punish those responsible, and ensure that such an absurd disaster never happens again in the Republic of Korea."

The bereaved families called out the names of the 159 victims during the last 24 hours at the Seoul Plaza altar, held a four-generation memorial ritual, and conducted the closing ceremony together.

At this event, Chair Lee also emphasized, "The end is a message signaling a new beginning," and bowed deeply, saying, "By setting up the (Seoul Plaza) altar, I sincerely thank the many civic groups, religious communities, and political circles who have supported us to endure until today."

The closing ceremony at Seoul Plaza and the opening ceremony of the new altar were attended by Woo Won-shik, Speaker of the National Assembly; Nam In-soon, Chair of the Democratic Party's Itaewon Disaster Special Committee; Kim Jae-yeon, Co-leader of the Progressive Party; and Kwon Young-guk, Leader of the Justice Party.

Speaker Woo said, "As the Speaker of the National Assembly, I offer my condolences and apologies for the pain and wounds of the Itaewon disaster bereaved families," and promised, "The process of establishing a Special Investigation Committee (Special Committee) under the Itaewon Disaster Special Act is underway. The National Assembly will do its best to establish an independent Special Committee that will properly uncover the truth."

He also stated, "The National Assembly is a constitutional institution responsible for the life and safety of the people," and added, "We will ensure that the Basic Life Safety Act is passed in the 22nd National Assembly."

Opposition party lawmakers also expressed solidarity with Speaker Woo's promise.

The bereaved families plan to operate the new memorial altar as a "space for remembrance and communication" until November 2 and will discuss future altar operations with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and others.