President orders new investigation into 2022 Itaewon crowd crush

President Lee Jae Myung has pledged to establish a joint investigative task force comprising both prosecutors and police to uncover the full truth behind the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush disaster, which claimed 159 lives, including 26 foreign nationals.

Lee also pledged to invite the families of foreign victims to attend the upcoming third anniversary ceremony this October, the presidential office announced Thursday.

The announcement came a day after Lee met with the bereaved families of victims from four recent major national tragedies — the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster, 2022 Itaewon crowd crush, 2023 Osong underpass flooding and 2024 Jeju Air crash — highlighting enduring public calls for accountability and healing.

The gathering, titled “A Conversation for Remembrance, Consolation and Healing,”
brought together around 200 family members and served as a platform for direct dialogue between victims’ families and the state.

“In response to requests from bereaved families for special recognition of foreign victims, the president instructed that the participation of their families be actively considered for the third anniversary memorial of the Itaewon disaster,” Kang Yu-jung, presidential spokesperson, said during a press briefing on Thursday.

The victims included 26 citizens from 14 countries — the United States, Japan, France, Australia, Norway, Austria, China, Russia, Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Iran. Most of the foreign victims were in their 20s.

The president stressed the importance of launching a thorough and impartial investigation into the Itaewon tragedy.

“There has been a lack of clear public understanding of the tragedy,” Kang quoted Lee as saying at the event. “He emphasized that the investigation must be empowered with coercive authority if necessary and pledged to establish a joint task force of prosecutors and police to work alongside the special investigation committee.”

At the event, a representative of the families of the Itaewon crowd crush victims urged the government to conduct a sincere, state-led investigation, fully disclose all information related to the disaster, and provide comprehensive psychological and social support for survivors and victims’ families.

Government officials attending Wednesday’s meeting pledged to develop a manual to support bereaved families in future disasters. They also vowed that each ministry will allocate adequate budgets and personnel for victim assistance and offer comprehensive psychological care. Additionally, the government promised to disclose all relevant records related to the incident to the fullest extent permitted by law.