Itaewon Families Call for Truth and Safer Society Ahead of Fourth Anniversary

Families of victims of the Itaewon crowd disaster marched through central Seoul on Saturday, calling for the full truth about the tragedy to be established and for stronger efforts to create a safer society as its fourth anniversary approaches.

About 100 people, including members of the October 29 Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families Association and a civic coalition supporting them, began walking at 10:29 a.m. from the House of Stars, a memorial and communication space in Jongno. Their route passed Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul Plaza and Euljiro before continuing toward Myeong-dong.

Before the march began, association chair Lee Jeong-min said four years had passed while families continued to hope that the circumstances surrounding the disaster would finally be clarified. He said the walk was an appeal to make South Korea safer and prevent society from enduring the same pain again.

Participants chanted demands for those responsible to be held accountable and urged the public to remember the disaster while working toward improved safety. Along the route, they placed posters announcing an upcoming public memorial event and distributed purple ribbons honoring the victims.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety and bereaved-family groups plan to hold a public memorial ceremony at Seoul Plaza at 5:30 p.m. on October 24. A separate fourth-anniversary remembrance ceremony is scheduled for 10:29 a.m. on October 29 at Gwanghwamun Square. Organizers expect about 1,000 people, including government and political party representatives, lawmakers and members of the public, to attend the anniversary event.

The families’ renewed appeal comes as the investigative structure surrounding the disaster has changed. A joint prosecution-police team formed at the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office on presidential instructions in July last year ended its work on September 30 after revised criminal procedure legislation providing for the abolition of the prosecution service took effect.

Police have since organized a special investigation team to continue the remaining work. The transition means the unresolved investigation will proceed under a new institutional arrangement as families continue to seek a definitive explanation of the disaster’s causes and accountability for the failures surrounding it.

Saturday’s march combined remembrance with a public policy message. By carrying their appeal through prominent civic spaces in the capital, participants sought to keep attention on both the unfinished investigation and the broader goal of preventing another large-scale public safety disaster.