Thousands of people took to the streets of Itaewon, Seoul, on Saturday to remember the victims of the human avalanche that killed at least 156 people on October 29 at a Halloween party and to protest against the authorities, whom they hold responsible for the tragedy.
The attendees have marched with candles and black banners to concentrate on the vigils convened in seven points of the city, reports the BBC.
Authorities have announced an investigation into what happened and municipal offices, police stations and fire stations have been searched. The National Police and President Yoon Suk Yeol have apologized for what happened and promised to improve security measures for future occasions.
However, this response was not enough for a population outraged by what happened. The event with the largest following was the one organized by Candlelight Action, a coalition of progressive organizations that had already called for protests against President Yoon even before the Itaewon tragedy.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets carrying black banners with slogans such as «Resigning is an expression of condolences» addressed directly to Yoon.
The speakers have taken the stage to criticize the government accompanied by mourning songs and prayers by Buddhist monks. «The government has an obvious responsibility, but it is looking for those responsible among irrelevant organizations (…). The Government did not fulfill its main function,» reproached one of the speakers. «Resign, Yoon Suk Yeol’s government! Resign, Yoon Suk Yeol’s government!» the crowd shouted in response.
About 200 people gathered at the accident site, called by political parties and showed banners with slogans such as «At 18.34 the country was not there,» referring to the time of the first call received by the emergency service, hours before the avalanche.
After a minute of silence they marched through the alley of the tragedy carrying chrysanthemums, the flower of mourning in Korean culture. «We could have saved the victims. The government must recognize its responsibility,» read one of the banners.
