Finding the truth and justice for families of the 2022 Itaewon disaster victims remain a far off goal, Rep. Nam In-soon of the ruling Democratic Party said Friday, adding that those responsible still needed to be held accountable.
"Although four years have passed, we are still in the process of revealing the truth behind the (Itaewon) disaster and hold people accountable for their wrongdoings," Nam said in a meeting she presided over as the chief of the ruling party's special committee investigating the disaster at the National Assembly on Friday.
The lawmaker, who also serves as the deputy speaker of the National Assembly, highlighted the role of the Assembly-backed National Commission for the Investigation of the October 29 Itaewon Disaster.
"We must lay bare why the country's disaster prevention and response mechanism did not activate (on the night of the disaster), and who is responsible for it,"
A recent bipartisan bill, passed in September, extended the commission by on year until September 2027. The commission is set to unveil its interim results of the investigation on Tuesday.
"The conditions for (the commission's investigation) have been far from favorable," Nam said, citing procedural delays when former President Yoon Suk Yeol was in office, coupled with the lack of cooperation by targets of the investigation, as well as a shortage of investigative staff and funding.
"The commission must now dedicate its extended operational period entirely to uncovering the truth," Nam said.
The committee has largely been focused on investigating high-ranking officials who courts ruled not guilty in relation to the deadly incident. These include former Yongsan-gu ward office chief Park Hee-young and former Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency chief Kim Kwang-ho.
Their criminal trials have been suspended since last year while the courts awaited the outcome of the commission's investigation.
consnow@heraldcorp.com
