Thousands of people gathered today in central Seoul to mourn the victims of the human avalanche that killed more than 150 people during the city’s Halloween celebrations and called for the resignation of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol.
The organizers, who have not obtained permission to hold this vigil in the symbolic Gwanghwamun Square, have called thousands of people to pay their respects and protest against the “irresponsible government” on a stretch of Sejong Avenue between the monumental Namdaemun Gate and the vicinity of Seoul City Hall.
The act was convened by Chodbul haendong (Action with candles), a liberal association that follows the spirit of the protests that between 2016 and 2017 gathered more than two million people in Seoul to demand the resignation of then president Park Geun-hye.
In October, he coordinated weekly protests calling for the sacking of conservative colleague Yoon Suk-yeol, whose approval rating is around 35% according to the latest polls.
Throughout the afternoon, thousands of people (at least 50,000, according to the organizers) joined the event, full of songs and speeches in memory of the victims of the tragedy that took place in the Itaewon neighborhood exactly a week ago, carrying candles and banners to read “Resignation Yoon Suk-yeol “e “To quit is to cry”.
“It is terrible that the government cannot protect the lives of our young people, terrible,” a 56-year-old bank employee who asked to remain anonymous told the EFE news agency.
Just 300 meters from the vigil, dozens of people were still in line to lay a chrysanthemum and bow in front of the altar placed in honor of the victims in front of the Town Hall.
At midnight today, the week of national mourning proclaimed after the end of the tragedy.
Last Saturday at least 100,000 people visited the Itaewon neighborhood to celebrate Halloween and the riot that formed in a narrow alley connecting a main avenue with a busy bar area ended up leaving 156 dead and 33 seriously injured.
South Korean police received harsh criticism this week after it was learned that the emergency services had received eleven calls about four hours before the tragedy occurred and that they have not acted.
After the tragedy, the central government also admitted the absence of protocols in the Asian country to avoid disasters in major events that do not have an organizer and promised that it will promote regulatory changes.
Photo: EFE
Source: Clarin
