South Korean Prime Minister 'really sorry' for Australian death

“We feel really sorry for them. We wish them the best. And we wish that (those in hospital) can recover as soon as possible.”

“We feel really sorry for them. We wish them the best. And we wish that (those in hospital) can recover as soon as possible.”

South Korea’s Prime Minister has given a heartfelt apology to the Australian victims caught up in Seoul’s deadly Halloween crush.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo told The Australian that his government was “really sorry” for what had happened to the young Australians.

“I really would like to convey all the best for their friends and for the people lying in (a hospital) bed now,” he said.

“We feel really sorry for them. We wish them the best. And we wish that (those in hospital) can recover as soon as possible.”

Mr Han said the foreign ministry had assigned an officer to each family caught up in the disaster and that the South Korean government would cover any “financial burdens” they were facing.

Grace Rached, a 23-year-old filmmaker from Sydney, died in the weekend tragedy. On Tuesday, the death toll rose to 156.

Grace Rached

Ms Rached’s friend Justina Cho, who was with her on Saturday night, was believed to still be in an ICU ward in Seoul on Tuesday. A third young Australian woman who was with them was hospitalised but is believed to be in a stable condition.

Grace Rached (bottom right) pictured with friends Justina Cho, Kim Yerim (top left and right) and Nathan Taverniti (bottom left) are the four Australian victims of the Seoul Halloween stampede which left 153 people dead, including Grace.

At a marathon press conference on Tuesday evening, which lasted for 2½ hours, Mr Han said the South Korean government was not avoiding responsibility for the biggest loss of life in the capital in more than 25 years.

He said South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol had assembled a cabinet meeting hours earlier and the government was determined to make sure that those responsible for the tragedy would be held to account.

His apology came just hours after South Korea’s police chief said he bore “a heavy responsibility” for failing to protect revellers.

On the narrow lanes of Itaewon, the site of the tragedy, there was grief, rage and disbelief at what had happened in Seoul’s most popular party district.

“The police should have been in the middle of every street. Instead they were in their stations. There were none,” Lee Sungsoo, a barman at BLIND, told The Australian on Tuesday.

Mr Lee, 21, was working on the first floor on Saturday night.

He first heard of the casualties in the nearby narrow alleyway when a man ran into his bar, ­covered in blood.

“I couldn’t believe it,” he said.

Like many businesses in the area – most of which, including his bar, are closed out of respect – he was putting up a condolence sign.

Some business owners in Itaewon told The Australian they were worried about their future, as they grieved for the victims.

Moon An ja, 66, was walking through the silent alleys, still littered with the weekend’s Halloween decorations, lamenting the huge loss of young life.

“There were so many people here. But no one was controlling them,” Ms Moon said.

The country has been roiled by the disaster, and the South Korean government is facing ferocious criticism of its initial response. Some residents in Seoul told The Australian that in pre-Covid years, police had enforced a one-way system in Itaewon’s crowded ­alleys to avoid crushes in the tight space.

On Tuesday, Mr Han repeatedly refused to state how many police were in the area on the night, although he said it was comparable to previous years.

Mr Han admitted that South Korea had an unclear chain of command for who was in control of crowds at events which had no specific organiser.

He promised a review would address this.

In response to questions about the responsibility of the young partygoers, Mr Han said “it was not their fault for being there”.

The belongings of victims of the deadly Halloween celebration stampede are shown at a gym. Picture: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

 

People lay flowers and monks chant in Seoul's Itaewon neighbourhood to pay tribute to the victims of a crowd surge.

Mr Yoon has promised to hold a meeting next week with civilian experts to discuss how to improve safety at future events.

Online, many of South Korea’s most popular YouTubers have posted condolence messages and ­promised they would not upload any content during this week’s ­official mourning period. The ­central and local governments have set up 25 official memorial altars in Seoul, where mourners are paying their respects to the victims.

The traumatised local community has also created its own citizens’ flower memorial outside Itaewon metro station.

Mourners pay tributes at a makeshift memorial for the victims of the deadly Halloween crowd surge, outside a subway station in the district of Itaewon in Seoul. Picture: Jung Yeon-je/AFP

Covered in messages and surrounded by white flowers, it pays tribute to the victims who came from 16 countries and South Korea.

One note was posted by a grieving Australian.

“So tragic … so unnecessary … so unfortunate,” it reads.

“We mourn young souls who were living their life to the fullest. Love from Hoju (Australia).”

Additional reporting: Chin Ha Cheong, Rosaline Walters