Thai student's family to receive support for repatriation of body

Foreign students mourn those killed in the Itaewon crowd crush at the makeshift memorial in front of Exit No. 1 at Itaewon Station, Yongsan District, Seoul on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday that it has contacted the family of Natthicha Makaew, a 27-year-old Thai student who died in the Itaewon crowd crush, after local press in Bangkok reported that Makaew’s parents were struggling to pay the 15 million won ($10,580) needed for bringing their daughter’s body back home to Thailand.

Concerns and questions about how support to the families of foreigners who died in the Itaewon disaster was to be provided were raised on Monday when The Bangkok Post reported that Makaew’s family was desperately raising funds to repatriate their daughter's body. The local newspaper quoted Makaew’s parents, Sakhon and Nha Makaew, as saying that they were borrowing money from relatives to cover the expenses.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin promised Monday afternoon during a meeting at the National Assembly that foreign victims would be given the same relief and support as Korean nationals.

Vice Minister for Disaster and Safety Management of the Ministry of the Interior, Kim Sung-ho, said families of the deceased will receive 20 million won in relief money and 15 million won for funeral expenses.

The foreign ministry said on Tuesday that the 15 million won will be available to foreign families for the repatriation of the deceased.

Families of foreign victims can apply to receive this money at the district offices of where the deceased was registered. If they were on tourist visas, applications can be filed at the Yongsan District.

The foreign ministry also said that it contacted Makaew’s family to assist with the process of returning her to Thailand, and that it was working closely with the Thai Embassy to answer any questions that the victim’s family had.

Makaew was a student enrolled in a six-month advanced Korean course at Sogang University in Seoul, according to local reports. She was among 26 foreigners taken by the deadly crowd crush in Itaewon that killed a total of 156 people.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]