Victims' families remember deadly Daegu subway fire

A bereaved family member mourns her loss at a memorial space built at the Daegu subway arson site of Jungangno Station, Thursday. /Yonhap

By Kwon Ji-youn

Thirteen years ago today, 192 people died and 151 were injured in a subway arson attack in Daegu.

A man set fire to a train at the Daegu Metropolitan Subway’s Jungangno Station. The fire spread to a second train that had entered the station from the opposite direction a few minutes later.

Most passengers on the first train escaped, but the second train’s chief engineer removed the master key as he fled, which shutdown onboard batteries that powered the train’s doors and effectively sealed the passengers inside. Seventy-nine passengers were trapped and died.

The death penalty was sought for the arsonist, Kim Dae-han, but he was sentenced to life because of his mental instability and because he repented. In August 2004, he died of a chronic illness. The investigation was said to have been tainted with cover-ups and corruption.

But after 13 years, the wounds are yet to heal.

Some 200 people gathered at the Daegu Metropolitan Transit Corporation headquarters Thursday for a memorial service.

Sobbing, the victims’ families observed a minute’s silence at 9:53 a.m., when the incident happened, to mourn the deaths of their loved ones. After the service, they headed to a memorial space built at the site of the tragedy. Daegu City had preserved the burnt wall remaining at the fire site and last year the area was made into a memorial chamber.

Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin joined families at the service.

“We will put all our efforts into preventing such tragedies and disasters, so as to make sure the torment of the bereaved families does not go to waste,” he said.