The main opposition on Wednesday stepped up pressure on the government over the Itaewon tragedy, accusing concerned organizations of attempting to cover up details of the incident. “Downplaying, covering up, manipulating the situation in an attempt to reduce accountability cannot be forgiven,” Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Rep. Lee Jae-myung said at the party’s supreme council meeting Wednesday. “High-level government officials’ attitudes are in no way taking

The police are speeding up their investigation into the authorities’ part in the Itaewon disaster, while criticisms of its response to the incident rises. Following the release of 11 phone transcripts to the police, which were made hours before the incident took place on Saturday, the police have faced increasing criticism from the public and political circles, as well as pressure from the government. Yongsan Police Station Chief Lee Im-jae has been put on a standby order, the first figu

Graphic images of the Itaewon disaster still inundate some media outlets, despite repeated calls to refrain from uploading and watching such content. Experts say guilt, curiosity and attention-seeking could be the drive for this continued behavior. Psychiatrist Dr. Lee Hae-kook of Catholic University St. Mary’s Hospital in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, explained that people can repeatedly consume graphic scenes of social disaster out of guilt. “Compulsive guilt and sorrow -- that we

North Korea's latest firing of more than 10 ballistic missiles, one of which landed south of the de facto maritime border for the first time, reflects the regime's confidence in its military capabilities and its determination to cement its status as a nuclear-armed state, Seoul-based experts said on Wednesday. The short-range ballistic missile that crossed the Northern Limit Line fell into the high sea 57 kilometers east of South Korea’s eastern city of Sokcho and 167 km northw

Seoul lambastes North Korea for 1st ballistic missile launch over NLL

“I came here to pray. We are very sorry to the young people,” Lee Jeong-ja, 78, said, wiping away tears with a handkerchief at the joint memorial altar at Exit 1 of Itaewon Station on Wednesday afternoon. “Young people should come here, not the old people like us. I am sorry,” she said, who has a young granddaughter of similar age of the people who died in Itaewon disaster. Another man surnamed Jeon, 59, who also visited the altar, said, “My heart aches. I am so

  On the night of the Itaewon disaster on Saturday, 11 emergency calls were made to police that directly mentioned that people were being hurt or crushed, but the police were only dispatched to the scene a total of four times, police records show. While the police revealed the transcripts of those 11 calls, it was found later that a total of 79 emergency calls were made from the Itaewon area from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The exact content of those calls has not yet been identified. Of the 11 emerg

11 emergency calls had warned what was going to happen, police call log shows

Mourners form a long line near Itaewon Station Exit 1, just a few meters from where over 150 people died on a horrific Halloween night out on Saturday. One by one they get a white chrysanthemum from a makeshift table, which they lay down at a memorial altar for the victims set up nearby. The flowers have been brought by Kim Seo-joon, a 31-year-old man who runs a flower shop in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul. He brought more than 300 white chrysanthemums to Itaewon on Wednesday morning to give aw

President Yoon Suk-yeol condemned North Korea's latest barrage of missile launches, one of them close to South Korean waters, as a de facto violation of the South's territory and ordered swift action to make the North pay for the provocations. Yoon also called on the military to be ready against additional and high-level provocations by North Korea as he presided over an emergency National Security Council meeting following the launch. North Korea fired three short-range ballistic miss

South Korea's military on Wednesday denounced North Korea's launch of its first missile into an area close to the South's territorial waters since the division of the peninsula more than seven decades ago, calling it an "intolerable" act. Earlier in the day, the North launched at least three short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, one of which flew across its de facto maritime border with South Korea, according to the South's military. The Joint Chiefs of

Prime Minister Han Duk-soo on Wednesday issued an apology for a joke he made during the previous day’s press conference related to the Itaewon tragedy. “No matter what the circumstances are, I apologize for making the people uncomfortable,” he said in a message that he relayed to reporters through the Prime Minister’s Office. During Tuesday’s foreign media briefing, Han became the subject of controversy for what was perceived by some as “light-hearted behavior

President Yoon Suk-yeol paid his third visit to a mourning altar for victims of the Halloween crowd crush Wednesday. Yoon has kept his public schedule to a minimum since the tragedy that killed at least 156 people in the popular nightlife district of Itaewon on Saturday. On Wednesday, he returned to Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall with members of his Cabinet and the presidential office, and laid a chrysanthemum on the altar before bowing his head in silent prayer. Yoon also looked at photos of

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed above 50,000 for the second straight day Wednesday amid concerns over a possible outbreak of a "twindemic" of the pandemic and seasonal influenza this winter. The country reported 54,766 new COVID-19 infections, including 78 from overseas, bringing the total to 25,670,407, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. The daily caseload rebounded to 58,379 on Tuesday after falling below 20,000 on Monday. Daily infections stayed be

WASHINGTON -- North Korea on Wednesday said the US and South Korea will pay a terrible price should they decide to attack the North, arguing the allies' ongoing joint military drills are aimed at preparing for a potential invasion. Pak Jong-chon, secretary of the Central Committee of the North's ruling Workers' Party, also called on Seoul and Washington to halt what he claimed to be military provocation against Pyongyang. "If the US and South Korea attempt to use armed forces