S. Korea crowd crush probe sought on anniversary

SEOUL, South Korea — Bereaved relatives of victims of last year’s devastating Halloween crush in Seoul and their supporters demanded an independent investigation of the disaster as they marked the anniversary Sunday with a massive memorial service.

The crush, one of the biggest peacetime disasters in South Korea, killed 159 people, most of them in their 20s and 30s who had gathered in Itaewon, a popular nightlife district in Seoul, for Halloween celebrations.

Commemorating the anniversary, the families visited the Itaewon area, laid flowers and offered condolences at an alley where the crush happened. Some wept near a wall where hosts of post-it notes with condolence messages were plastered.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I couldn’t protect you. I loved you,” Song Jin Young, 55, the father of one of the victims, said.

In Itaewon, accompanied by their supporters, the families also attended multi-faith prayer services for their loved ones. They chanted slogans asking President Yoon Suk Yeol to offer a more sincere apology and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min to resign over the disaster.

The group marched through Seoul before arriving at a square for a memorial service, which drew thousands of people.

In a speech, Lee Jeong-min, a representative for the families, urged President Yoon to support efforts to legislate a special law to open an independent investigation into the disaster.

“We did our utmost to raise our children but we couldn’t even touch them when they vanished all of a sudden. Where can we talk about our resentment toward this reality?” Lee said. “The special law would be the most important legislation to find the cause of the Itaewon disaster and discuss the prevention of recurrences of similar incidents.”