"The 2nd anniversary of the Itaewon disaster." "Promise to be together."

[Anchor]
A civic memorial contest was held at Seoul Plaza to mark the second anniversary of the Itaewon disaster, in which 159 people died in the middle of Seoul.

The participants comforted the victims' souls and comforted the bereaved families with one mind.

Reporter Yuh-hyun reports.

[Reporter]
The bereaved families and citizens of the Itaewon disaster gathered at Seoul Plaza.

At 6:34 p.m., when the first report was received on the day of the disaster,

All closed their eyes and paid tribute to the victims with one heart.

The bereaved families recalled their families who had left and voiced their hope that such a disaster would not be repeated again in the future.

[Lee Jung-min / 10.29 Chairman of the steering committee of the bereaved families of the Itaewon disaster (the late Lee Ju-young's father): The vacancy of the beloved family was an emptiness that nothing could fill. We must no longer allow these misfortunes to repeat in this country.

Citizens also left messages of condolence, sympathizing with their sorrows.

[Jeong Yi An / Shinwol-dong, Seoul: I thought it was a pity that we were going to commemorate the Itaewon disaster. I thought it would help me, so I wrote (a memorial message).]

{A step toward truth, a promise to be together' is the name of this memorial contest
It contains the earnest desire of the bereaved families that the fact-finding investigation, which began two years after the
disaster, will be carried out well until the end.

The chairman of the special investigation committee for the Itaewon disaster stressed that he would find out the truth of the day of the disaster to the end.

[Song Ki-chun / 10.29 Special Investigation Committee Chairman for Itaewon Disaster: We would like to answer all the questions and requests that we may raise, including who is responsible and what we should do to prevent such a disaster from happening again.]

Politicians who sat together at the civic memorial competition also expressed their intention to help conduct a proper investigation.

[Choo Kyung-ho / People's Power Floor Leader: The National Assembly will do its part with unlimited responsibility. We will make a safe Korea so that innocent sacrifices are not in vain.

[Park Chan-dae / Minjoo Party floor leader: There is a lot of evidence that the Itaewon disaster was a man-made disaster, but no one responsible for the disaster is being punished. We will be with you by the bereaved family and by the citizens.]

The bereaved families condemned the court for passively interpreting the law and giving indulgence to Yongsan-gu District Commissioner Park Hee-young and Seoul Metropolitan Police Commissioner Kim Kwang-ho for not guilty in the first trial.

In addition, he appealed for support, saying that citizens' interest and solidarity are more important than anything else for unwavering fact-finding.

I'm YTN's YOSHIHYUN.



Photographer: Shim Won-bo
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video: Ahn Hong-hyun