Yoon should sack interior minister for Itaewon disaster
Forty-six days ago, the world was astonished to hear about a horrific crowd crush in Itaewon that ended up taking the lives of 158 people. The tragedy was largely attributed to the state's incompetence and indifference in one of the world's self-proclaimed advanced countries.
The shock didn't end there. No official has since come forward to admit responsibility concretely and unequivocally. In a normal country, it would be unthinkable if the cabinet minister responsible for public safety kept the post. In Korea, the president effectively defends the official.
On Monday, President Yoon Suk-yeol made it clear that he would consider dismissing Interior Minister Lee Sang-min "after an investigation into the Itaewon crowd crush is completed." Not only Lee but the police under his command have acknowledged their mistakes and failures repeatedly. Lee's problems lay not with what he did but with what he did not do. The chief executive should have dismissed him long ago for his "comprehensive omission."
People are sad and disappointed with Yoon's move ― once again ― but not surprised.
Since the tragic disaster, which Yoon and his aides describe as an "incident," the prosecutor-turned-president has expressed his regrets many times. However, he did so mostly at Christian prayers and Buddhist services. Yoon never did what people had expected of him: release a statement to the nation acknowledging the government's ethical and political ― if not yet legal ― responsibility.
Yoon is afraid that he might follow in the footsteps of his ill-fated predecessor.
Former President Park Geun-hye admitted her and her government's failure and apologized for the 2014 ferry disaster that took 304 lives, mostly high schoolers on a school excursion. She was impeached and imprisoned later. Yoon, the former prosecutor who emerged by sending her to jail, appears fixated on not letting that happen to him.
Two of Yoon's aides have inadvertently revealed their boss' intention. Lee, the interior minister, said, "Who doesn't want to resign gracefully?" Lee wants to bow out of this personal hardship but cannot. He must be the lamb Yoon throws to his political opponents at the 11th hour. Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, a governing party bigwig, also said, "The Itaewon incident must not become another ferry disaster" to prevent the further spread of political flames.
True, the majority opposition party, which passed Lee's dismissal recommendation unilaterally on Sunday, must have some political reasons, including its leader's problems. However, the governing camp must not, and cannot, turn a deaf ear to the appeals of bereaved families. They only want Yoon to sack Lee and apologize "officially" in a public statement. Should that be so difficult? A columnist at the Hankook Ilbo, a sister daily of this paper, wrote, "The aftermath of the disaster is even more disastrous." Who can refute it?
In the past eight and a half years, Koreans saw two "man-made" calamities which ended hundreds of young lives. These young men and women just wanted a brief escape from their hellish studies and work in the most fiercely competitive country in the world. But the incumbent administration did not even allow people to discuss the tragedy for a week under the pretext of "national mourning." As a result, these unfortunate souls could not even be truly missed, talked about and sent off with some form of closure.
In historical films and dramas, the kings of the Joseon Dynasty say, "This is all because I don't have enough virtue," even in natural disasters like drought and floods. The Itaewon disaster ― not the incident ― was caused by humans, as global media point out. Former President Park was punished for her "seven-hour absence" in the early phase of the ferry catastrophe. Suppose the incumbent chief executive remains bent on minimizing the Itaewon disaster's political aftershock for some 70 days until next year. In that case, a real political earthquake will follow.
Yoon should fire Lee and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who stunned foreign journalists by jeering them at a related news conference. He must issue a national statement "not after but before" probing the disaster.
