[앵커]
The bereaved families of the ‘Itaewon Disaster’, who spoke publicly about 20 days after the disaster, poured out their resentment, saying that there was no government on the day of the disaster and even after that.
The right to participate in the truth-finding process as well as the opportunity to meet with other bereaved families were blocked, leaving the bereaved families helpless, but civic groups came to the fore before the government.
Reporter Song Jae-in reports.
[기자]
The survivors of the ‘Itaewon Disaster’, who stood at their first public appearance, first questioned the process of transporting the victims at the time of the disaster.
The disaster took place in Itaewon, Seoul, because the victims were dispersed to hospitals outside the metropolitan area.
[고(故) 이남훈 씨 어머니 (지난 22일) : 무슨 생각으로 우리 아이들 시신을 경기도 외곽으로 뿔뿔이 흩어놓으셨나요. 이태원 근처 큰 의료시설에 최소 20~30명이라도 모여있었다면….]
It was a disaster in which there was no contact between the victims in the first place, and as the bereaved families stayed in different hospitals, the opportunity to reach each other was further reduced.
The local government-led incense burners were also not an appropriate space for the bereaved families to stand.
The incense burner without a memorial tablet as well as a portrait was another wound.
[‘이태원 참사’ 유족 (지난 22일) : 저희 동의 없이 분향소에 위패 없고 영정 없는 걸 봤을 때 그 또한 저한텐 2차 가해였습니다.]
We hear news about the disaster every day, but the bereaved families were unable to participate in the truth-finding process.
The cause of death, time of death, and place of death are all unknown.
[고(故) 이남훈 씨 어머니 (지난 22일) : 어떻게 부모가 내 자식이 죽었는데 사인도 시간도 제대로 된 장소도 알지 못하고 내 자식을 어떻게 떠나보내야 합니까?]
I tried asking for information on other bereaved families, thinking that the only thing we could comfort was each other, but the government refused for privacy reasons.
[고(故) 이민아 씨 아버지 (지난 22일) : 참사 17일이 지나서야 수소문 끝에 겨우 유족 몇 분을 만날 수 있었습니다. 그것도 아무 지원 없이 무슨 비밀공작 하듯이 말입니다. 정부가, 국가가 왜 이렇게 피해자들을 대하는 것입니까.]
The government, which was passive in preparing countermeasures, said that there was an opinion that more time for commemoration was needed, but belatedly announced for the first time that it would set up a related plan.
It was civic groups that came before the government to help the isolated bereaved families.
Each civic group has decided to provide professional support, from counseling and legal support to the bereaved families to requesting disclosure of information to find out the truth.
A month before the ‘Itaewon Disaster’ occurred, the bereaved families began to speak out for the first time, but a solution centered on the person concerned is still slow.
This is YTN Song Jae-in.
YTN Song Jae-in ([email protected])
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