2024/01/31 Yang Qianhao
The Itaewon tragedy in South Korea occurred on October 29, 2022, and has expired for one year and three months. The families of the victims have continuously called for the enactment of a special law to thoroughly clarify the truth and hold accountable. The National Assembly, where the opposition camp holds more than half of the seats, passed the bill on January 9, but President Yun Seok-yue vetoed it on January 30, arousing the anger of the bereaved families. .Photo/Reuters
The Itaewon tragedy in South Korea occurred on October 29, 2022, and has expired for one year and three months. The families of the victims have continuously called for the enactment of a special law to thoroughly clarify the truth and hold accountable; the National Assembly, where the opposition camp holds more than half of the seats, passed the bill on January 9.President Yoon Seok-yueHowever, it was rejected on January 30, arousing the anger of the bereaved families. The congressional election on April 10 is approaching, and the opposition camp plans to re-introduce legislation in the new Congress. The premise is that it must win more seats so that it will not be vetoed by the president again…
“Today is a very tragic day for the families of our victims. For the past year, we have been begging and asking them to clarify why our children had to leave us. We cry out, but at this moment, the government and the ruling The party, as well as President Yun Xiyue, ignored the 159 victims and their families. We now have unbearable anger, and we also realize that we can no longer hope for it.”
On the morning of January 30, Lee Jung-min, a representative of the Victims’ Families Association, accompanied by many parents of the victims, said at a press conference held in front of the joint incense burning station on the Seoul City Hall Square.
Itaewon Halloween MassacreIt has been 1 year and 3 months since it happened. Because the police, who were accused of dereliction of duty and suspected of destroying evidence, conducted their own investigation into the case, their independence and impartiality were questioned. Therefore, the bereaved families have been demanding the enactment of the “Itaewon Special Law” (full name “10‧29 Pear”). “Special Law on Protection of the Rights of Victims of the Taiyuan Massacre, Clarification of the Truth and Prevention of Recurrence”) to ensure that the incident process and responsibilities can be clearly clarified and not interfered with.
Lee Jung-min, a representative of the Victims’ Families Association (the one holding a microphone in the center of the picture), accompanied by many parents of the victims, held a press conference in front of the joint incense burning station at the Seoul City Hall Square.Photo/European News Agency
In fact, after the tragedy, NanSouth KoreaThe National Human Rights Commission issued a statement that it was necessary to enact the “Itaewon Special Law” and pointed out that the truth about the tragedy should be clarified, the rights and interests of the victims should be protected, and relevant countermeasures should be formulated.
The content of the “Special Law” clearly stipulates that the “Special Investigation Committee” with search powers will be composed of 3 people recommended by the victim’s family group, 4 people each recommended by the ruling party and the opposition party, and a total of 11 people. In addition to holding hearings and reporting to The agencies and personnel involved in the case require access to various information. If the parties refuse, they can also request arrest warrants and conduct seizure searches, and request the Supervisory Yuan to supervise relevant civil servants.
The largest opposition party – the Progressivescommon democratic party(Democratic Party for short) advocated that the committee should be given the power of “special prosecutors” (similar to special investigation teams), but this caused the ruling party, the conservatives, tonational powerbe opposed to. In order to ensure that the “Special Law” can be implemented as soon as possible, the Democratic Party finally agreed to delete the content related to the special prosecution. At the same time, in order to avoid criticism of political manipulation, it was decided to allow the committee to operate after the congressional election and launch a one-year and three-month investigation.
Although the Democratic Party agreed to make concessions, the National Power still criticized the composition of the committee as “too biased” and would become a tool for certain forces to manipulate politics, so it expressed its opposition. The National Power advocates that the content of the “Special Law” should focus on practical support and compensation for the families of the victims and the injured.
When the two camps could not reach a consensus, the South Korean Parliament held a vote on the “Special Law” on January 9, and the families of the victims also went to the meeting to observe.
Before the vote on the bill, Lee Man-hee, a member of the People’s Liberation Army National Assembly with a former police background, expressed his objections at the meeting:
“Both the police and prosecutors have investigated the Itaewon tragedy…But unlike the Sewol tragedy, no facts have been concealed in the Itaewon tragedy, and no facts can be concealed anymore. The truth has been clearly revealed, Those who are responsible will also be responsible.”
He went on to say: “To re-investigate the cases that are currently under trial (in court) by giving the excessive powers of the Special Investigation Committee will cause people to worry. This will delay the realization of judicial justice and lead to domestic public opinion. Split will lead to social chaos. National administrative power and national tax dollars will also be wasted in inappropriate places…”
Lee Min-hee, a member of the National Power Congress, was a policeman in the past. Picture/JTBC
On January 30, 2024, family members of the survivors of the Itaewon massacre protested against Yoon Seok-yue’s veto of the bill. The sign read: “We reject (the president’s) veto!” Photo/Reuters
The ruling party has always maintained that if the committee is launched, it will have to allocate personnel expenses for permanent and non-permanent members, various staff and special advisory committee members; writing and printing reports will also require a lot of administrative work expenses, adding up It would cost a huge amount of about 9.7 billion won (approximately NT$240 million), but the results obtained would be limited and not cost-effective.
While Congressman Li was speaking, a family member couldn’t hold back his emotions and cried and shouted in the gallery:
“You said that everything has been searched, but you just didn’t search it properly, right? Can you still say ‘everything has been searched’? Congressman, isn’t that true? Haven’t we all made a lot of concessions?” Several other survivors also shouted: “You have lost your conscience, your conscience is dead!” and “Stop talking!”
In the end, except for one member of the National Assembly who stayed in the meeting, all the others left the meeting, leaving only those in the opposition.common democratic partyand Justice Party MPs. In the end, all 177 members present voted in favor of the bill.
Members of the National Power protested outside the venue, and floor representative (National Assembly caucus chief) Yoon Jae-ok criticized: “The Democratic Party alone passed a special law that can use disasters to stir up political strife and foster social conflicts. This means that the Republic of Korea chooses not security but political strife. Contradictory!”
On January 30, the South Korean government publicly stated that it would exercise its veto power over the Special Law. South Korean law stipulates that after a bill is passed by the National Assembly, it can be promulgated by the President within 15 days. However, if the President feels that it is difficult to implement, he can exercise his veto power called “request for reconsideration” and return it to the National Assembly for a vote. But at this time, the standard for passing is not the approval of more than half of the members, but the presence of more than half of the members, and 2/3 must vote in favor.
In fact, since last year, President Yoon has exercised the “reconsideration request” five times and vetoed eight bills passed by the opposition camp, which holds more than half of the seats in the National Assembly.
Since 2023, President Yoon has exercised “reconsideration requirements” five times in the face of bills passed by the opposition camp, which holds more than half of the seats in the National Assembly, and has vetoed eight passed bills. The picture shows Yin Xiyue visiting Buckingham Palace in the United Kingdom in November 2023 to view the collection of the British royal family.Photo/Associated Press
The memorial wall for the Itaewon incident photographed in November 2023 has now been demolished.Picture/Photography by Yang Qianhao
South Korea’s Prime Minister Han Byul-soo made a similar statement to the ruling party members at the State Council meeting on January 30. He said: “The “Special Law” itself has no identity or practical benefits. We are worried that it will only consume the country’s administrative capabilities and financial resources, and deepen the division and distrust of the people. The pain caused by the tragedy should not become a political dispute or will The content of the “unconstitutional” doubts and the means to justify them.”
Prime Minister South Korea continued, “If a Special Law can be enacted that can heal the wounds of the bereaved families, the victims, and our society, and prevent the recurrence of such regrets, the government will actively accept it. We ask the ruling and opposition parties to address the problematic provisions of the Special Law. , have a full discussion again.”
Only a few hours after the State Council meeting, President Yoon officially signed the veto of the “Itaewon Special Law.” After South Korea was democratized in 1987, President Roh Tae-woo, who was in power from 1988 to 1992, vetoed a total of 7 bills. However, President Yoon vetoed the 9th item of the “Itaewon Special Law” this time, setting a record for South Korea in its history. A record number of presidential vetoes.
The South Korean government is currently planning to expand benefits including consultation and medical expenses to the families of the victims, the injured, and those affected by participating in the rescue at the time, as well as provide psychological and employment counseling, and even discuss giving these people the benefits they can enjoy in the workplace. More vacation time. During this period, the families of the victims continued to call for the establishment of a permanent mourning facility for the tragedy, and the government also promised to work with the families of the victims and local governments to reach an agreement to promote it.
But what dissatisfies the family members is that the support plans proposed by the government have nothing to do with the essence of the “Special Law.” Since the police themselves are involved, and President Yoon is a prosecutor, he may exert various influence on the prosecutors, which will restrict the prosecutors’ search. Therefore, the “Special Law” is used to grant search authority to ensure that the tragedy can be solved. An independent investigation was conducted to clarify issues including why the police did not handle the report at the time, whether the police force was insufficient to maintain order in advance, as well as the response to the tragedy and whether there was deliberate laziness.
Starting in 2023 last year, the families of the victims began to take to the streets to protest, marching long distances in the “three steps and one bow” method on the road between the bright sunshine in summer and the blue snow in winter, and even shaved their heads in protest, hoping to arouse public attention to the Itaewon tragedy. Despite the progress of the truth investigation, they finally saw the “Special Law” passed by the National Assembly, but now President Yoon has vetoed it, leaving them in despair again. Lee Jung-min, a representative of the Victims’ Families Council, criticized:
“The president and the ruling party claim that the composition of the committee is unfair, so does the president want to appoint his own people as the chairman of the committee? Is it fair to appoint someone from the government to be the chairman of the committee to investigate government issues? Unless President Yoon is afraid that he will become The subject of the investigation is afraid that the truth will be revealed, otherwise why would he be so shameless?”
Starting in 2023 last year, the families of the victims began to take to the streets to protest, marching long distances in the “three steps and one bow” method on the road between the bright sunshine in summer and the blue snow in winter. Photo/Itaewon Family Council FB
The “head-shaving protest” of the victims’ families hopes to arouse public attention to the progress of the truth investigation of the Itaewon tragedy. Photo/Itaewon Family Council FB
He continued: “From the early days of the tragedy, senior members of the ruling party have scolded the families of the victims for “only caring about compensation.” The government has the same behavior. When will the families ask for financial support or compensation? All we want is to clarify the truth. , but in the face of the family’s request, the government used the most humiliating way to deny it.”
Families also accused that high-level government officials claimed on the surface that they would actively provide support to those affected by the tragedy. However, President Yoon, Prime Minister South Korea, and senior officials of the ruling party did not arrange meetings with the families of the victims, and did not even hold anniversary events. Participated in the enactment of the “Special Law”, they never discussed or persuaded in person, but only publicly stated on the screen that “the bill will become a political tool” and “a waste of tax dollars”, making them completely unable to feel that the government wants to solve the problem. sincerity.
In response, Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party, said on Facebook: “This regime, which should be responsible for the lives and safety of the people, has repeatedly picked on the wounds of the families of the victims, and now refuses to clarify the truth. President Yoon Seok-yue signed a rejection of the “Itaewon Special “Act” is to officially declare that the Republic of Korea is an irresponsible country and a society where everyone has to make a living.” Lee Jae-myung also warned that a regime that completely resists the will of the people and wants to win from parents who have lost their children “will not last long.”
After President Yoon vetoes the Special Law, if he wants to return it to the National Assembly for a new vote, the threshold for more than half of the members to be present and 2/3 to vote in favor is too high. Although the current progressive Democratic Party has a majority of 164 in the 300-seat National Assembly, Together with other small parties and independent members of Congress in the same camp, the number of seats is only 170-180 at most, making it almost impossible to succeed by force. If the vote fails, it will be equivalent to declaring that the “Special Law” has been dead, which will also worry the opposition camp.
If the two major camps of the ruling and opposition parties and the families of the victims are still unable to reach any compromise or consensus on changes to the content of the “Special Law”, they will have to wait until the re-election of the National Assembly on April 10, and the new National Assembly will submit it for a vote again. The premise is that the opposition party must win more than the current majority of 2/3 seats in order to withstand President Yoon’s veto power on the bill again.
However, it is extremely difficult to achieve this goal. Even the progressive camp in the opposition dare not be confident. The hope of the victims’ families for an independent and impartial investigation is now at the crossroads of uneasiness and anxiety…
The picture shows the contract incense burning station on May 16, 2023.Picture/Photography by Yang Qianhao
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2024-01-31 10:03:36
