hankyoreh

A person who lost a loved one in the Itaewon crowd crush on Oct. 29, 2022, touches a photo at a memorial for victims of the tragedy erected in Seoul Plaza after police prohibited a memorial to be erected in Gwanghwamun Square on Feb. 4, one day before the 100-day anniversary of the disaster that killed over 150 people in Itaewon. (Kang Chang-kwang/The Hankyoreh)

“I’m sorry, Dong-gyu. I couldn’t make it to the charnel house today.”

Ahn Yeong-seo, 47, mother of the late Kim Dong-gyu, was unable to keep her ritual of visiting her son’s grave every Sunday when she spoke to the Hankyoreh at the joint memorial altar outside the Seoul Metropolitan Library on Sunday.

This is because Ahn does not know when the Seoul metropolitan government and the police may tear down the new memorial altar that sits in front of Seoul Plaza. Shedding tears, the grieving mother said, “I think I’ll only be able to leave when I think that this joint memorial, where my son’s portrait is displayed, will be safe from harm.”

Exactly 100 days after the Oct. 29 crowd crush in Itaewon that killed over 150 people, families who lost loved ones and concerned citizens stood guard at the joint memorial altar for the victims of the disaster after facing altercations with law enforcement one day earlier.

On Saturday, the bereaved families clashed with police and Seoul City Hall officials in the process of setting up a new memorial altar in front of Seoul Plaza. The police deployed police buses and dispatched about 3,000 police squad members to Gwanghwamun Square to block the installation of a memorial altar there.

However, family members wielding funeral portraits and religious figures fought the police, shouting things such as “Where were you during the crowd crush on Halloween?” as they pushed part of the police task force away to set up the memorial altar.

In the process, some bereaved family members briefly lost consciousness and had to be rushed to the hospital. After more than an hour of confrontation, the bereaved families finally found a place to display the 159 portraits of those lost in Itaewon that fateful night and in the aftermath.

The Seoul metropolitan government has maintained a rigid stance that “installation of facilities without permission in a square that should guarantee the free use of all citizens is prohibited,” and delivered a notice that the memorial altar be removed by 1 pm on Monday.

The Seoul metropolitan government issued a statement the same day saying, “How can we, as an administrative agency that has no choice but to think from the perspective of citizens, neglect to respond to the installation of a surprise facility in a public space? The administration execution plan remains unchanged.” The city continues to insist that the memorial altar be removed.

Two police officers stand near a new memorial for victims of the Oct. 29 crowd crush in Itaewon that was erected outside the Seoul Metropolitan Library on Feb. 4. (Ko Byung-chan/The Hankyoreh)

Amid the response from the city, those mourning family lost in the disaster have been holding down the memorial in tears and anger.

“The family members held a memorial on the 100-day anniversary of the Itaewon tragedy on the plaza in front of City Hall,” explained Lee Jong-cheol, a representative of the bereaved family members’ association and father of crowd crush victim Lee Ji-han, while attending a memorial held Sunday at the National Assembly Members’ Hall.

“Yesterday, we managed to put up a humble memorial. If they attempt to take down the memorial at Seoul Plaza, I have prepared gasoline and I will follow those children,” he raged.

Lee Hae-ju, the 24-year-old younger sister of victim Lee Hae-rin, also spoke in agitation.

“A hundred days have passed and nothing has changed. Now we have to worry about the city of Seoul taking down the memorial,” she said.

The family members made plans to take turns braving the frigid winter winds to watch over the memorial around the clock.

They explained that they had been forced to relocate the memorial here because the previous one at Noksapyeong Station in Seoul’s Yongsan District was relatively inaccessible to the public, and because they had been victimized all over again with their treatment by members of the right-wing group known as the New Freedom Union.

“The Noksapyeong Station memorial was out of the way and cramped, which made it difficult for many people to visit,” explained Nam Yun-ho, the 46-year-old uncle of victim Song Hae-rim.

“Not only that, but the family members had also been under terrible stress because of the continued persecution by the New Freedom Union,” he added.

As of Sunday afternoon, the new memorial had been visited by many members of the public.

“I’d been to the citizens’ memorial at Noksapyeong, but it was out of the way and cramped,” said a 64-year-old surnamed No whose son was killed in a 2015 motorcycle accident.

“I think [the new memorial] will allow a lot more people to offer solace to the family members,” they added.

“When parents lose a child, it often becomes even more difficult for them over time. It pains me the way the city of Seoul and government seem to keep causing suffering for them,” No also said.

Meanwhile, the bereaved family members’ association and citizens’ council for countermeasures remembered the victims of the Itaewon tragedy at a 100-day anniversary mass held on Sunday afternoon at the cathedral of the Franciscan Education Center in Seoul’s Jeong neighborhood.

People gather at a memorial altar for victims of the Oct. 29 Itaewon crowd crush in Seoul Plaza on Feb. 5, exactly 100 days since the disaster, to mourn the victims. (Kim Jung-hyo/The Hankyoreh)

By Ko Byung-chan, staff reporter; Kim Seon-sik, staff reporter; Oh Yeon-seo, staff reporter

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