Itaewon tragedy and bad governance as its cause

By Eugene Lee

I like writing on political issues and governance and do it often. However, it breaks my heart to have to write this piece. I must start with words of condolence to all those affected. I wish them strength in the face of the irreplaceable losses that took so many lives last Saturday in Itaewon. What was supposed to be a night of fun turned out to be one of horror, especially so for the victims and their close ones. Inside, I am agonizing with outrage because this tragedy was possible to prevent. It didn't have to happen!

While there are many voices, ranging from blaming culture to youth's supposedly blind "herd mentality," I see it as a gross failure of the government to provide public safety on multiple levels. The Yongsangu Office, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and the central government, primarily the Ministry of Interior and Safety, are all designed to oversee such major events, scheduled or not ― and they didn't.

In my mind, I keep going through the event minute by minute asking what went wrong and find it difficult to find a proper explanation. There are many existing tools that the government already has and yet it failed to react. The Yongsangu Office had access to live video streams coming non-stop from CCTV cameras on the street where the crowd crush occurred.

Furthermore, mobile phone usage should have raised red flags about what was happening in Itaewon. There were a series of reports and phone calls made to the 119 emergency service collectively suggesting a major incident, but yet again, the system failed to provide an adequate response. Every person on that street had a smartphone and the real-time data of telecom companies should have triggered a warning to the administration. Any type of a crowd with such high density is prone to danger.

My students at the universities where I teach had continuously talked about wanting to go to Itaewon for the past two weeks. Social media was full of messages inviting people to join the festivities. Everything was saying, "Get ready!" although the government did nothing to get ready.

Make no mistake, it wasn't a stampede ― it was a slow but forceful, bone-shattering crowd crush. The bodies of those young people ― the majority in their teens and twenties ― couldn't hold back the multiple tons of weight, and they began to suffocate and die.

What could have prevented this tragedy? A simple group text message asking people to disperse would have done the trick. It also could have been prevented by a few police officers and small barricades directing the flow of the crowd. So where then were the police? They were dispatched to oversee a large protest demonstration in nearby Gwanghwamun. What demonstration? A demonstration demanding that President Yoon Suk-yeol resign! It is just absurd! When you have crowds of people demonstrating against you and polls telling you to change the course of your actions, you do so!

What I saw next is just the second half of the problem. The government is making yet another mistake by designating all of the Yongsan district a "special disaster area." There are loopholes in the legislature, and at the end of the day, the money, instead of going to those who actually need it, is most likely to be squandered.

By promising a full-scale investigation, the government will attempt to find a few scapegoats among the crowd and, yet again, shove the major issues under the carpet. You can't undo a tragedy by investigating it! No money can bring those kids back to life! Everyone says they're sorry and grieving, but has anyone in the administration come forward and apologized for what happened? Has anyone taken responsibility for what happened?

Along with that deafening silence, there have been numerous attempts on the behalf of the government to avoid any responsibility. I already see a narrative being pushed to the media to portray this tragedy as some sort of "natural disaster" and claiming that no one could have done anything about it. It was not a natural disaster! It was preventable!

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo asked people to refrain from any blame and criticism during the time of mourning and spend time looking inwards. Attempts to muzzle criticism are currently working in the media. But by doing so, the administration is attempting to deflect the anger of the public, making the pain and the scars deeper.

Eight years ago, I took my family to enjoy a bowl of spaghetti at a pasta restaurant at the end of the same alley where the tragedy occurred. If only I had known the kind of memories I would later have about that space. I am not a fortune teller. I don't know the future, but I know that when walking, you must step forward with your feet, otherwise you will smash your face on the ground. The government did not take the proper steps to prevent this tragedy, even if the laws and manuals had existed. As it is with any action, inaction has consequences too and unfortunately it did for Halloween in Itaewon.

Governance is a very complex thing. You can't force things to work properly. Governance is the craft of orchestrating various systems to work cohesively together. It is the president's job to make things work! President Yoon Suk-yeol, where were you when these young people needed you? Where was Minister of Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min and what was he doing at the time of the event? Where was Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and why wasn't he prepared? When will safety become a reality in Korea?

Safety isn't a privilege, it is a necessity. There are questions that the public wants to have answers to. Will they ever hear those answers from you? Korea needs good administrators; we need good governance! We all need to learn more about safety, and the current government needs to heed this first. So, let it happen!

Eugene Lee (mreulee@gmail.com) is a lecturing professor at the Graduate School of Governance at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul. Specializing in international relations and governance, his research and teaching focus on national and regional security, international development, government policies and Northeast and Central Asia.