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Lawmakers Wi Seong-gon (center) of the Democratic Party, Jang Hye-young (right) of the Justice Party, and Yong Hye-in (left) of the Basic Income Party submit a request for a parliamentary probe into the deadly Itaewon crowd crush to the National Assembly bills division on Nov. 9. (pool photo)

South Korea’s Democratic Party, Justice Party, and Basic Income Party have submitted a joint request to the National Assembly for a parliamentary investigation into the Itaewon crowd crush that left 156 dead late last month. Having joined forces in their endeavor to uncover the facts of the disaster, the opposition parties are also calling on the ruling People Power Party (PPP) to lend its support to the effort.

On Wednesday, Wi Seong-gon, deputy floor leader of the Democratic Party, Jang Hye-young, deputy floor leader of the Justice Party, and Yong Hye-in, a lawmaker belonging to the Basic Income Party, together submitted a request for a parliamentary investigation to the National Assembly’s bills division.

As for the scope of the investigation, the three opposition parties are calling for the cause of the Itaewon disaster and those responsible to be identified and for the operational status of the safety management systems of the presidential office, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, National Police Agency, National Fire Agency, Seoul metropolitan government, and the Yongsan District Office to be looked into.

The opposition members stated that the “fundamental backdrop” of the Itaewon disaster was “an excessive demand for guards and security personnel due to the relocation of the presidential office to Yongsan and negligence in maintaining public order the day of the disaster on account of the plan to crack down on drug-related offenses.” These issues had crucial consequences for the Itaewon crush, the opposition argues.

The opposition parties also plan to form an 18-member special committee made up of negotiating and non-negotiating bodies.

The Democratic Party put the screws on the PPP to participate in the investigation, saying, “We hope the ruling party will participate in a responsible way in the procedure of forming the special committee and in the investigation plan [formation] process.”

At a press conference held after the request for the parliamentary investigation was submitted, Park Hong-keun, floor leader of the Democrats, said, “If the ruling party says they’ll take part in creating an outline [of a parliamentary probe] during the formation of the special committee, we will welcome them with open arms.”

“If [the PPP] continues to refuse to participate,” Park went on, “we will form a special committee with the Democratic Party and non-negotiating bodies and inevitably deal with this at the plenary session on Nov. 24.”

Nevertheless, the PPP said it plans to “not respond” to the parliamentary probe being jointly pushed by the opposition parties.

“The parliamentary investigation, which has no legal force, will only interfere with the [police] investigation and cause political strife,” Joo Ho-young, the PPP floor leader, told reporters that day.

However, with some arguing it would be better for the ruling party to take part in the opposition-led investigation rather than ignoring it, there have been predictions from within the party that it will join in on the probe.

Still, the PPP doesn’t seem too keen on getting involved with the opposition parties and their investigation.

When asked by a reporter on Wednesday what their thoughts were on the presidential office being included as a target of a presidential probe, a key presidential office official showed a negative attitude, responding, “As the special investigation headquarters’ investigation into the full details of the accident and the truth is ongoing, we will be closely keeping an eye on the contents [of the investigation],” adding, “Sadness should not be utilized for politics.”

By Lim Jae-woo, staff reporter

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