Citizens mourn the deadly Itaewon crowd crush at an altar at Seoul Plaza on Oct. 31, 2022. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 1 (Korea Bizwire) — Controversy has sparked online over the government’s plans to support the victims of the deadly Halloween crowd crush in Seoul’s Itaewon district.
In a disaster response meeting Monday, the government decided to provide 20 million won (US$14,010) in compensation to each of the dead victims on top of up to 15 million won of financial aid to cover funeral expenses.
Surviving victims will also be given compensation between 5-10 million won, according to the seriousness of the injuries they sustained.
There is a consensus among politicians that the government should sufficiently support the victims of the tragedy that took place in Itaewon last week.
In response, a number of netizens from online communities and on social media are questioning the government’s plan to spend people’s taxes on something that the government should be blamed for.
“While it is tragic that many people have died, I still have to ask why our taxes should be spent on their funerals. It’s not like they worked for the country or the public good,” an individual said on Twitter.
A survey conducted by Blind, an anonymous online community for salaried workers, showed that the majority of respondents rejected the idea of allocating government funds to support the victims.
“It is no more than a way of coming between the victims and the public, a way of diverting the eyes away from the government,” one of the online commentators said on Twitter.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
