Anchor: Around three thousand people gathered at Seoul Plaza on Sunday evening to memorialize the 159 lives claimed by the Halloween crowd crush last year in Seoul's Itaewon area. Family members of the deceased called for the legislation of the Itaewon Disaster Special Act to enable further investigation and measures to prevent similar accidents from occurring again. As the families and the opposition demand punishment for those responsible, President Yoon Suk Yeol did not attend the event but joined a separate church service where he promised to build a safer nation.
Kim Bum-soo has more.

Report:

[Sound bite: A memorial service marking one-year anniversary of 2022 Itaewon crowd crush]

Marking the first anniversary of the tragic crowd crush in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood, the bereaved families held memorial events throughout Sunday.

Following a mass at Myeongdong Cathedral in central Seoul, the families gathered near the site of the tragedy and marched to Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall, where the main event was held.

[Sound bite: Chairman of the Itaewon Tragedy Victims’ Family Committee Lee Jung-min (Korean-English)]
"We did not want to become bereaved families. We should not have become bereaved families. It was clearly predicted, and there was proactive intervention and there were warnings. If the predictions and warnings had been recognized and a plan was implemented, we would not have become bereaved families."

On the way, the procession stopped in front of the presidential office, where the participants called for an apology from President Yoon Suk Yeol for failing to prevent the tragedy that claimed 159 lives.

The rally organizer estimated that around three-thousand people joined the memorial event, which was also attended by four opposition parties.

Despite calls from bereaved family members for his attendance, President Yoon opted not to join the event and instead attended a separate Christian service at Youngahm Church in Seoul.

[Sound bite: President Yoon Suk Yeol (Korean-English)]
"This day last year was the saddest day of my life, and I believe everyone in South Korea feels the same way as I do. I'd like to express my condolences to those who lost their lives in this unfortunate accident. As citizens of the country that those people loved, we have the responsibility to build a better world.”

He said that the government has put in efforts to build a safer South Korea and will continue to work toward that aim so that the sacrifices of the victims will not be in vain.

The bereaved families, however, called for the swift parliamentary passage of the Itaewon Disaster Special Act aimed at launching an independent probe to identify the structural cause of the deadly crowd crush, as well as to punish high-ranking officials for failing to prevent the tragedy.

Opposition parties and the families of the victims say that the crowd crush could have been prevented had the police properly executed safety procedures. The ruling People Power Party says investigations have already shed sufficient light on what happened, and that the opposition is only politicizing the tragedy ahead of the general elections next year. 

The ruling party is instead seeking to revise the Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety to require local governments to establish safety measures for public gatherings without official organizers.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.