The South Korean Constitutional Court rejected the impeachment of Interior Minister Lee Sang-min over the Itaewon stampede, sparking public outrage.
South Korean lawmakers voted in February to impeach Minister Lee, saying he should take responsibility for failing to prevent the Itaewon stampede that killed 159 people in October 2022. The National Assembly's Judiciary Committee then submitted a recommendation to the Constitutional Court for consideration.
In a ruling on July 25, the Constitutional Court of South Korea said that although Minister Lee had made some inappropriate comments, the National Assembly had no grounds to impeach him.
"This catastrophic incident was not caused or aggravated by a single individual," Constitutional Court judge Lee Jong-seok said, adding that government agencies were incapable of responding in a unified manner to a large-scale disaster.
Minister Lee, who did not appear at the hearing, later apologized to the people, adding that it was time to unite and stop pointless political conflict.
Relatives of victims of the Itaewon stampede at a court hearing in Seoul, South Korea, July 25. Photo: Reuters
During the trial, many relatives of the victims burst into tears upon hearing the verdict, with two mothers collapsing and having to be taken to the emergency room.
Dozens of relatives and supporters of the Itaewon tragedy victims also gathered in front of the court, shouting slogans criticizing the Constitutional Court for "granting immunity to Lee Sang-min".
Choi Sun-mi, mother of Park Ga-young, a victim killed in the stampede, described the court's ruling as "really cruel".
“Our children are living in a place where they can’t even walk safely,” Choi said, choking up.
About 100,000 people flocked to Itaewon Street on the evening of October 29, 2022, to attend the first Halloween festival in Seoul in three years, as the government lifted many Covid-19 prevention restrictions.
The tragedy occurred when the crowd poured into a narrow alley, leading to a stampede that killed 159 people. It was the deadliest mass tragedy in South Korean history and the worst since the Sewol ferry sinking in 2014.
Ngoc Anh (According to Reuters )
Source link
Comment (0)