Korean governments claimed that they decided to provide subsidies, including funeral expenses, to those killed in the Itaewon incident. Yet, the opinions among the public differ about such a decision. People are currently questioning whether it’s reasonable to provide support according to the law, especially when the subsidies are from citizens’ taxes.
The Ministry of Public Administration and Security announced measures to support victims, including paying up to 15 million won for funeral expenses and supporting transportation costs. The government decided to dispatch officers to 31 funeral halls across the country to help with funerals. For the injured, the actual medical expenses will be paid first by the health insurance finance, and for the seriously injured, the government plans to match and manage the dedicated public officials one-on-one. In addition, the government will reduce taxes and telecommunications charges along with relief funds or suspend payment for bereaved families and the injured. In addition, the government declared Yongsan-gu, Seoul, a special disaster area where the disaster occurred. Such a decision was made to provide the full possible support for the injured people and bereaved families including foreign casualties. According to the Ministry of Public Administration, the government can provide relief funds to the bereaved families and the injured. In the case of deaths, 20 million won is paid per person. In addition, 5 to 10 million won will be provided to the injured depending on the degree of disability. As of this afternoon, 154 people were killed and 149 injured.
Such an announcement was enough to stimulate controversy, which erupted in online communities. The survey conducted by the online website "Blind," shows that 95.4% of the people thought the subsidy was unfair. They claim that there isn’t a specific guideline or standard for giving out subsidies; some questioned why the government didn’t support people who died of a car accident or other kinds of accident because clearly, every person’s life should be valued equally. Moreover, some focus on the violation of safety rules: people in Itaewon were deliberately pushing others in violation of safety rules and thus, there’s no need to give subsidies for people who just went there to play. On the other hand, more than 150 people indeed died in one place overnight, and the president declared it a special disaster area due to an urgent situation. The number of casualties clearly is significant. In the past, 991 million won was provided to 443 households in Ferry Sewol Incident; residents of Jindo, Jeollanam-do, who had been declared a special disaster area, received 1.015 billion won for 1,190 households. Thus, some believe that the Itaewon incident should be followed by subsidies as the number of casualties are similar. Whether which side we decide to argue, the subsidies are already decided to be given out, and I hope such a policy would help those who are suffering.
Writer: Michael Kim
(picture from Unsplash)