The hearing comes over three years after the tragedy, hindered by political gridlock, accountability disputes and investigative delays
2-MIN READ2-MINThe Korea TimesPublished: 3:43pm, 12 Mar 2026South Korea’s long-awaited public inquiry into the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush opened on Thursday with tearful testimony from survivors and heated exchanges between police officials accused of mishandling emergency calls on the night of the disaster.The hearing came more than three years after the tragedy, following prolonged political gridlock, disputes over accountability and repeated delays in forming an independent investigative body.
The National Commission for the Investigation of the October 29 Itaewon Disaster, the special fact-finding group investigating the tragedy, began the first of two days of hearings in central Seoul.
The session drew bereaved families and witnesses whose testimonies shed new light on a chain of failures preceding the crowd surge, resulting in the deaths of 159 people during Halloween celebrations.
Tears filled the hall as survivor Min Seung-ho recounted the moments before a crowd surge in a narrow alley in Itaewon turned fatal.
