DP and liberal allies push ahead with Itaewon probe without PPP

Politics

Published: 19 Dec. 2022, 15:55

DP and liberal allies push ahead with Itaewon probe without PPP

Woo Sang-ho, a Democratic Party representative and chair of a special committee at the National Assembly to investigate the Oct. 29 Itaewon crowd crush, commences a committee meeting at the Assembly in western Seoul on Monday. [NEWS1]

The Democratic Party (DP) and two other liberal parties are pushing forward with a probe into the Oct. 29 Itaewon disaster.

The DP, the Justice Party and the Basic Income Party held a plenary session at 10:30 a.m. in the absence of the People Power Party (PPP), after a fallout between the rival parties over the budget bill.

The PPP members boycotted the session on Monday, protesting that the DP did not keep their promise to first work together for a consensus on the budget bill before passing any bill on the Itaewon probe.

The two parties have been mired in political wrangling over disagreements on the budget bill, which was due Dec. 2.

“We know there was an agreement between the parties that the budget bill should be processed first and then a parliamentary investigation,” said Jang Hye-yeong, a Justice Party representative, during the session on Monday. “But we ask them to please return.”

The liberal parties agreed on Monday to allow two days of on-site inspections at Itaewon by relevant organizations and to hold hearings with them through early January.

The on-site inspections will be conducted by the police and Seoul city officials on Dec. 21, and by Yongsan district officials and the Interior Ministry on Dec. 23.

The Assembly will then request the Prime Minister’s Office, the presidential office, the Interior Ministry, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and the Yongsan police precinct to report what they did during the hours of the deadly crowd crush in Itaewon.

Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, Commissioner General of the National Police Agency Yoon Hee-keun, senior-ranking presidential office officials and prosecutors will be among those questioned in hearings.

A total of 158 people died in a Halloween crowd crush in Itaewon in Yongsan District, central Seoul on Oct. 29. Most of them were in their 20s, and 26 were foreign.

Earlier in the month, the DP passed without PPP attendance a no-confidence motion on Interior Minister Lee. The motion was brushed off by the presidential office.

“Perhaps the Democratic Party defines an agreement as one that should be kept under advantageous circumstances and one that can be broken under unfavorable circumstances,” said Jang Dong-hyeok, PPP floor leader in a statement on Sunday. “The budget bill is still the most urgent matter for the Assembly.”

On Monday, DP members held a meeting of a special committee at the Assembly to investigate the crowd crush. All PPP members boycotted the meeting.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]