South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visited an altar set up near Seoul City Hall to mourn the 154 people killed in a crowd crush, as his government launched an investigation into one of the country’s deadliest incidents in years.
Yoon and his wife laid flowers and bowed their heads Monday to remember the people who were killed during Halloween festivities that drew tens of thousands of people to the Itaewon district of the capital. It is providing one of the greatest tests for his conservative government that has been in place for less than half a year but is already grappling with falling support.
All but one of the victims have been identified, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said in a briefing, and pledged the government will do all it can to help families who lost loved ones. Han called on people to avoid assigning blame as the investigation is underway. He also called for people to avoid using social media to spread unverified information, stoke hateful comments, or post disturbing images from the scene.
