A high school student who survived the Halloween crowd crush in Itaewon committed suicide. He had been receiving regular therapy sessions after the incident, but ultimately failed to overcome the trauma. Some people are questioning whether the incident is being properly handled with the focus on victims and are calling for improvements.

A, a high school student who survived the Itaewon disaster, was found dead in a motel in Mapo-gu, Seoul on December 12. There was no suicide note at the scene. A police representative announced, “He appears to have committed suicide. We decided not to conduct an autopsy according to the wishes of the bereaved family.”

A was at the scene on the day of the Itaewon tragedy. He was transported to a hospital where he received treatment. However, he lost two friends who were with him that day. A left the hospital after just two days claiming that he had to attend his friends’ funeral. He returned to school a week after the incident, but suffered from the psychological shock. This was why he regularly received therapy.

In particular, A was known to have been hurt by the malicious comments online. In an interview with MBC on Wednesday, A’s mother said, “Around mid-November, he (A) talked to me crying. He was very angry at the online comments that insulted his dead friends like ‘Didn’t they die trying to see a celebrity?’”

As of December 14, there were five teenagers who were recovering from the Itaewon crowd crush. A representative of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said, “The Wee Center that has jurisdiction over the surviving teenagers’ schools is checking the status of emergency mental support and will provide further aid when deemed necessary.” She further explained, “Even in general schools, we are cooperating with relevant agencies to provide psychological support according to the target, such as teachers, students, parents, and managers, to help them overcome the trauma from Itaewon.”

The latest death has triggered criticism that the government’s handling of the disaster has failed to focus on the victims.

On December 2, a month after the crowd crush, the government disbanded the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, the state agency that oversees disaster relief. According to the regulation on the establishment and operation of the central headquarters, the government can run the headquarters while responding to and recovering from a massive disaster that has occurred or is likely to occur. But the government dissolved the headquarters early, at a time when the psychological treatment and care of the bereaved families and survivors was more important than ever before.

Even compared to past cases, the operation of the central headquarters was short. In 2014, at the time of the Sewol disaster, the central headquarters was expanded to a government-wide accident response headquarters, which was in operation for seven months from April 16 to November 18. According to the information that the office of Jeon Yong-gi, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker, obtained from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the central headquarters was open for two months from May 30 to July 30 when a ferry sank in Hungary in 2019.

Kim Hyun-soo, a professor of psychiatry at Myongji Hospital who also served as the director of the Seoul Suicide Prevention Center, said, “The government shut down the central headquarters early, but without this agency, it is difficult to provide government-wide support or measures.” He argued, “Communication for the mental support of victims’ families and survivors will not be smooth now compared to when the central headquarters was in operation,” and said, “If the government does not handle the disaster at a government-wide level, other problems can emerge.”

People also pointed out that the ruling People Power Party’s attitude, treating the disaster as an excuse for political disputes, as well as the blunt remarks by some PPP members interfered with proper disaster relief and healing, aggravating the psychological trauma experienced by the victims’ families and survivors. On December 10, PPP lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong wrote on social media, “Itaewon must not follow the same path as the Sewol.” The next day, Chang Je-won, another PPP lawmaker, also wrote on social media, “We never should have agreed to it (the parliamentary inquiry into the Itaewon crowd crush) in the first place.” Kim Mi-na, a PPP representative in the Changwon City Council, made a harsh comment to the bereaved families saying, “They didn’t die saving the country, did they?” and was referred to the PPP ethics committee.

Yi Jae-geun, secretary-general of cooperation in the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, who is an active member of a committee of citizens pursuing the truth of the Itaewon crowd crush, said, “The rude words by lawmakers and the insulting online comments aimed at the victims’ families are not only intimidating the survivors, but are also interfering with the return to their daily lives.” Yi further pointed out, “The government and the National Assembly should more actively express their support and help. But now that the central headquarters has been disbanded, it seems like they are actually forcing the responsibility onto the survivors.”

Professor Kim Hyun-soo said, “The bereaved families and survivors need a space where they can gather, cry and talk together.” He advised the government to provide a space for mourning, including the memorial center, for an extended period of time and to establish a system for the careful treatment of lamenting families.”