SEOUL – South Korea’s National Assembly voted on May 2 to approve a Bill backed by the ruling and opposition parties to launch a fresh probe into the deadly Halloween crowd crush in the capital Seoul in 2022.

An earlier Bill, which was backed by the opposition-led Parliament without the support of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), was vetoed by President Yoon Suk-yeol in January.

The latest Bill is a compromise that removes granting full investigative power to the panel, which Mr Yoon had objected to, according to his office.

Under the Bill, a committee made up of members recommended by two major parties and a chair chosen by them through consultations will look into the tragedy.

The passage of the Bill comes after Mr Yoon met opposition leader Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party for talks on April 29 following the PPP’s crushing general election defeat in April.

It also comes amid growing pressure on the authorities, including from relatives of the victims, to hold those responsible to account.

A spokesperson for Mr Yoon on May 1 welcomed the agreement reached between the ruling and opposition parties on the Bill as indicating a return to cooperation in politics.

The Halloween crowd crush in Seoul’s Itaewon district in 2022 killed nearly 160 people, and relatives of the victims as well as the UN Human Rights Committee have since called for an independent inquiry.

A police investigation published in early 2023 concluded that a lack of preparation and an inadequate response were the main factors behind the deadly crush.

In January, South Korean prosecutors indicted the former head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, charging him with contributing through negligence to the crush.

No senior government figures, including the interior and safety minister, have resigned or been sacked so far over the crush. REUTERS