Seoul City stands firm on decision to dismantle ‘illegal memorial’ for crowd crush victims

Seoul Metropolitan Government reiterated Tuesday, its decision to ban the bereaved families of the Itaewon crowd crush from using the city square as the venue for their memorial. Last Saturday a memorial for the tragedy’s victims was set up without the permission of authorities.

Vice Mayor Oh Shin-hwan said at a press conference at City Hall that the families have until 1 p.m. Sunday to find an alternate space for the memorial — a tribute to loved ones. The city government had warned the bereaved family members, Monday, that the memorial will be demolished at 1 p.m., Wednesday unless they dismantle it voluntarily.

It was the second time the city government issued a warning to the bereaved families. City officials issued their first warning on Saturday afternoon when they visited the memorial. The bereaved family members have defied the two warnings and swore to protect the memorial from being torn down.

“We are postponing the execution of our previously issued warning by almost a week,” said Oh. “And I hereby clarify that a majority of the public doesn’t agree with the bereaved group’s demand to allow them to install their memorial at Gwanghwamun Square.”

The bereaved families marked the 100th day of the tragedy on Sunday and requested the city government allow them to use Gwanghwamun Square as the new location of their memorial, which is just a few blocks north of city hall. The city government, however, rejected the request, saying the memorial does not fit the purpose of the square.

Following the city government’s refusal, the bereaved families held a protest rally near Seoul Metropolitan Library flaking city hall.

Oh said the bereaved families consistently wished to preserve their memorial inside a public facility near Itaewon from the beginning. The vice mayor, who claimed to have been communicating with the families since last December, proposed an underground space inside Noksapyeong Station for the purpose, which is only one stop west of Itaewon Station. According to the vice mayor, the families said they will consider the location.

“But unexpectedly, a day before the 100th anniversary of the tragedy, they said they wanted to use Gwanghwamun Square instead and, following our refusal, illegally took over the city square later that day,” said Oh. “I’m just very confused right now as to why they would suddenly change their mind. As the city government, we should abide by regulations, which forces us to respond to the action strictly by the rulebook so that we won’t leave an erroneous precedent.”

Oh said the bereaved families’ repeated refusal to use Noksapyeong Station was hard for him to understand.