A request to open a parliamentary probe into the Itaewon crowd crush has been submitted at a plenary session of the National Assembly on Thursday.

The head of the Proceedings Bureau of the National Assembly Secretariat reported that the request was submitted with the sponsorship of 181 lawmakers from the main opposition Democratic Party and two minor parties – the Justice Party and the Basic Income Party.

With that, National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo ordered the launch of discussions on the request.

This kicks off a process to form a special committee to look into the government's alleged mishandling of the tragedy, with the committee required to come up with an investigation plan that can be approved at a plenary session.

The three opposition parties plan to approve the investigation plan on November 24. But whether the probe will actually be launched remains uncertain amid strong objections by the ruling People Power Party, which claims it could hamper an ongoing investigation by the police.