2023-10-30 08:03:06
2023-10-30 16:03 Yonhap News Network 24 Hours commemoration of the Itaewon incident on October 29.Photo/Associated Press
Remember1029: The first anniversary of the Itaewon Incident in South Korea, the truth regarding absence and accountability
“The victims of the tragedy: 159 people, those who bear political responsibility for this: 0 people.” The large-scale stampede in South Korea – the Itaewon incident – will expire on October 29, 2023. A total of 159 people were killed and 196 injured in the incident. One year has passed, and the alley where the incident occurred has now become a memorial area with the words “#Remember1029” written on it; the crowds that used to be crowded here to hold Halloween events are no longer there. At the anniversary memorial meeting held on the 29th, family members of the bereaved family members still pointed out with grief and indignation that over the past year, there has been no clear official progress on the truth investigation and accountability issues, and many people are still living with the pain of the tragedy.
(This topic won the 2023 SOPA Asia Excellence in Journalism Award Silver Award and was shortlisted for the 2023 Taiwan Excellence in Journalism Award)
The Itaewon tragedy occurred on October 29, 2022. It is located in Itaewon, Yongsan District, Seoul, South Korea, and is adjacent to an alley next to the Hamilton Hotel. Unfortunately, due to the crowds of people who came to Itaewon to participate in Halloween activities that night, A stampede occurred, resulting in 159 deaths and 196 injuries. Although the incident triggered great sadness and indignation in South Korean society, the investigation and accountability of the incident have been slow over the past year, which is unacceptable to the bereaved family members.
On October 29, 2023, which is the first anniversary of the incident, the place where the incident occurred has now been converted into a memorial area. People can go to the entrance of this alley and write messages and post them on the wall. There used to be many bars and restaurants in the surrounding area. In the year following the tragedy, many stores chose to close or move. Itaewon, which used to be lively and bustling with people, now has a completely different environmental image and atmosphere.
“It’s like a ghost town…” Japan’s “Yomiuri Shimbun” visited Itaewon and compared the impact on local stores one year following the incident. Some store owners said that only regarding 20% of the consumer traffic remained, and many nearby storefronts have become empty and posted with rental notices. However, crowds can still be seen in several nightclubs at night. The operators expressed optimism to the “Yomiuri Shimbun” that they believe that the crowds will gradually return and there is still a chance to return to a scene full of popularity and vitality. But the Itaewon I see now, whether compared to last year or before the epidemic, is still obviously much more lonely and deserted.
Nowadays, Itaewon can no longer expect to attract crowds through Halloween activities. One of the reasons for the tragedy was the problem of police deployment and crowd assessment that day.
The new solution proposed by the Security and Disaster Prevention Department of the Seoul City Government is to introduce an AI recognition system. By installing more than 900 monitors and using AI to monitor the flow and density of crowds, they will be divided into “caution” according to the degree of danger. “, “Alert”, and “Profound”. Whenever there are more than 3 people per square meter (on the day of the Itaewon incident, the crowd density was estimated to be nearly 11 people per square meter), the system will enter In the “attention” stage, a broadcast is issued through the monitor, asking the public to avoid walking into narrow alleys to achieve an early warning effect.
However, even with an AI system, can it prevent similar things from happening once more? Before the Itaewon incident, a risk assessment pointed out that the police should be prepared early, but later it was discovered that the police not only failed to pay attention to the warning, but also planned to evade responsibility. As for the report call that was ignored and delayed that night, how can this kind of human error be improved? So far, there is still no satisfactory answer to South Korean society.
For the bereaved family members, the lack of clarity on the truth in Itaewon and the stagnation of accountability are the reasons why the family members are most concerned regarding and have been unable to heal their wounds. A year later, both South Korean news media and special reports by international foreign media have asked the same question – so far, all investigations have made no progress, and there is no clear accountability. How many people have paid political responsibility for this? It is “0”, and many family members are still living in grief and pain.
South Korea’s opposition camp all went to the memorial service on the 29th, including Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea, who had previously been involved in political turmoil. However, President Yoon Seok-yue himself believed that the “political character” of the memorial service was too strong, meaning that it would be used to make a fuss by the opposition parties. Therefore, he did not attend the ceremony in Itaewon, but went to a church in Buk-gu, Seoul to deliver a speech. The accident has become a political battle, but it has no real help in investigating and accountability, causing the people to increasingly lose confidence in the government.
Nowadays, Itaewon can no longer expect to attract crowds through Halloween activities. One of the reasons for the tragedy was that the local police… “It was like a ghost town…” Japan’s “Yomiuri Shimbun” visited Itaewon on the spot and compared the situation one year following the incident… Itaewon At the incident memorial gathering site, portraits of the victims were placed.Photo/AFP One year has passed, and the alley where the incident occurred has now become a memorial area with the words “#Remember102… So far, all investigations have made no progress and there is no clear accountability, and politics have been paid for this.” The number of people responsible is “0”, many families… Korea behind the camera in the past 24 hours
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