Opposition blasts president's alleged comment Itaewon crowd crush was 'induced'

Members of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Monday continued to lambast President Yoon Suk Yeol over a claim in a high-level politician's recently published memoir that Yoon had said he "cannot rule out the possibility that this accident (the deadly Itaewon crowd crush) may have been induced and manipulated by a certain force," in December 2022.

Rep. Park Hong-geun of the Democratic Party railed against Yoon's alleged comment in an interview on MBC Radio, demanding an explanation from the president: "It was the claim of far-right YouTubers at the time that certain media companies intentionally got people to gather there (at the site of the crowd crush), and I think (Yoon) believed it to be true without any filtering."

Last week, former National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo released the alleged comment by Yoon about the tragedy, in which 159 people were killed, in the country's deadliest crowd crush on Oct. 29, 2022, the Saturday before Halloween, in the popular Seoul neighborhood.

According to the memoir, Yoon allegedly had said on Dec. 5, 2022 that he had a "strong suspicion about the Itaewon tragedy," which was that he "cannot rule out the possibility that this accident may have been induced and manipulated by a certain force."

Kim said he was "shocked to hear this conspiracy theory from the president," adding that it was "quite a dangerous response."

The presidential office and ruling People Power Party flatly denied Kim's claims, with the latter urging Kim to apologize for what it said were baseless claims.

Kim responded by writing on Facebook, "It is regrettable that (the excerpt) has caused controversy, which was not my intent. I could see that the president was struggling to consider various situations (related to the tragedy), for a thorough investigation on the case."

However, opposition lawmakers have continued to request an official explanation from Yoon on the matter. Rep. Park Seong-ju of the Democratic Party said Kim appears not to want to be involved in the situation related to the current president, and that he believes the claims to be true.

Minor opposition parties also chimed in, with Rebuilding Korea Party leader Rep. Cho Kuk criticizing the president for believing in conspiracy theories.

Amid the growing controversy, some members of the conservative bloc have also urged the administration to investigate the situation. Former People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Seong-min urged Yoon himself to clarify what really happened.