A bereaved family member of a victim of the Itaewon crowd crush lays flowers at a memorial space for the victims at the site of the tragedy in Itaewon, Seoul, in this Oct. 29, 2023, file photo. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Rival political parties are set to hold a parliamentary plenary session Thursday to pass a special bill mandating a new investigation into the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush that claimed 159 lives.
The bill, which was initially railroaded by the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) in January but vetoed by President Yoon Suk Yeol, calls for the formation of an investigation committee to look into the root cause of the tragedy that took place in Seoul’s Itaewon district during the Halloween weekend in 2022.
On Wednesday, the ruling People Power Party and the DP reached an agreement on some key issues of the bill, including the committee’s period of operation and method of investigation, and agreed to pass the revised bill through the plenary parliamentary session Thursday.
Under the amended bill, the committee will not have the authority to conduct investigations ex officio or seek warrants and will operate for up to a year with the possibility of extending its term by up to three months.
It will also comprise a chair who will be chosen following consultations between the rival parties, as well as four members recommended by each party.
(Yonhap)
