CBT spoke with Jo Myoung-sook and Ryu Ji-yun, who are members of the council of the bereaved families of the Osong Underpass Disaster, and Lee Sun-young, the Secretary-General of the Citizen’ Solidarity for Participation & Autonomy of Chungbuk (CSPAC). Ms. Jo and Ryu both commented, “My daily life has collapsed, and I cannot remember how I spent the past year” conveying their sorrow and torment after the loss of their loved ones. “I’m getting mental counselling for the trauma and anguish suffered on that day. Ten months later, however, I still can’t get rid of the memories,” said Ms. Ryu. Ms. Jo added “The fact that such a disaster occurred in the daily life of anyone in Korea was shocking because it was unimaginable. A year is a long time, but it was also short. We are still living in loneliness, missing our loved ones.”

  Right after the incident, the Bereaved Family Council, Survivor Council and Citizens’ Countermeasures Committee were composed and they held a press conference complaining about the violation of Serious Accident Punishment Act of Kim Young-hwan, the governor of Chungcheongbuk-do and Lee Beom-seog, the mayor of Cheongju City which further led to legal action. Secretary-General Lee said, “Since the investigation and prosecution only focusses on the part that violates the application of the law within the legal framework, there is a limit to approaching a substantive problem with a mere investigation. Therefore, a private-public united task force (TF) is usually set up for the investigation, but Chungcheongbuk Provincial Government refused to form one because it is still under investigation. Therefore, we formed a Private Investigation Committee and issued an Osong Disaster Investigation Report. There is definitely a lot of information which was revealed by the press that we can collect. However, since the committee is private, there are certainly limitations as well. Taking that into account, the report aims to influence the prosecution’s investigation, and to present the current status of victim support and measures to improve the system. However, the prosecution’s investigation was slow due to the general election, although the report was eventually published as a result of the effort of many people. Thankfully, the candidates of the Democratic Party of Korea suggested an agreement ceremony for a parliamentary investigation to search for the truth of the disaster. All the candidates who signed the agreement were elected, and we are now expecting them to fulfill these pledges.”

  Ms. Ryu said, “Currently, the family council gathers once a month to share any information learned and collected. The Provincial Government never contacted us first nor informed us of any new developments, so we have time to share information, lament together and support each other. As we share the same pain, participating in the meeting itself gives us strength. It does however sometimes become a huge burden to bear. However, because we, the people and my family, suffered an accident because of the lack of management of the public infrastructure, I attend meetings and share information on the ongoing situation. Jo said, “Even though I live in Seoul, and it is difficult to actively participate, I am attending  meetings and various interviews,” adding that all members of the council are trying to be helpful by participating wherever they are able to.

  Ms. Yu said, “There were some people who was heard and sounded quite insulting after the trial began,” and Jo, also added “There were no words of apology at all. The bereaved families still hope that Cheongju City and Chungcheongbuk Provincial Government acknowledge their responsibility of the disaster and officially apologize.”

  Ms. Yu especially opened up about her experience, which she called an “absurd support.” “Firstly, there was no consolation money at all. Secondly, I received a simple shopping bag with something from the Trauma Center, but I could not pay attention to it because I was too busy and shocked at the moment. When I checked the bag a few days later, I found that there were sleeping eye patches, coloring books, color pencils, and pop-it. One moment I was confused and struggling because I lost my family, and dumbfounded the next when I saw the contents of the bag. I thought ‘If this is support, it would have been better not giving anything to me. What kind of psychological stability can I find with this?’ Lastly, even though the government covers the counselling expenses, it has never been registered for payback. To receive subsidies for counselling and prescriptions, the victims and the bereaved families must submit a plethora of documents to prove their situation. I just gave up because I was not mentally stable enough to go through the whole process to get the support money. Currently, I am spending my own money on things ranging from searching for psychiatrists and counselors to medical treatment and prescriptions. In addition, since I have already received counseling at the Trauma Center, the center must also be aware of the fact that I need counseling. Even if there was no application for subsidies or a visit to the center, I was not contacted except at the beginning. I think additional monitoring is necessary if I vent such mental pain, but none of those things have been done.”

  She also mentioned, “There was a time when a trauma center employee attended the monthly meeting of the Bereaved Family Council. However, it felt like they were reluctantly fulfilling an obligation rather than giving actual support: ‘We are doing what we need to do. At least, we have done something for you.’ They gave us some pamphlets about deep breathing, and it was not very helpful at all because it was so superficial. Although the mental health and trauma needed to be dealt with in depth on an one-on-one counseling basis, it became insufficient and so I just left the meeting that day.

  Secretary-General Lee also pointed out that “It is recognized that psychological trauma is difficult to show because it is not exposed. Quick response is important but these were lacking. Above all, the sudden demolition of the civic memorial altar and the deprivation of the right to memorialize are irreparable. There is a need for such support for families to recover and return to their daily lives, which is a huge challenge.”

  Last year on Aug. 16, the victims and Bereaved Family Council accused governor Kim and mayor Lee of violating the Serious Accident Punishment Act. The prosecution’s investigation into them was not conducted until this April, and finally done on May 1. The Serious Accident Punishment Act has been widely recognized in terms of industrial accidents so far, and punishment is increasing, but there have been no cases applied to this civil accident yet.

  Ms. Yu said, “We (the council) believe that they will be punished as the first violation of civil disasters under the Serious Accident Punishment Act. This is obviously a man-made disaster. There are other officials who should take real responsibility, not some of the lower-level officials. People who left their posts on other business, despite heavy rain warnings, have to be punished.”

  Jo, added “Even a small company is supposed to review a single task several times, however, several national organs failed to confirm and were not responsible for the safety of the people in state organization. I never thought that I would wonder ‘how is the Serious Accident Punishment Act, which was made for citizen’s safety, applied?’ and ‘does South Korea where I’m living, have a safe society?’ Still, the governor and mayor are putting the blame and responsibility on each other. Even though, while no one has taken the responsibility, we are grateful for the efforts of many people to get the trial going.”

  Secretary-General Lee mentioned “Opinions are still divided because there is no precedent regarding civil disasters. However, if it is finally recognized as a citizen disaster and is judged to be a violation of the Serious Accident Punishment Act, the impact will be tremendously huge. The management and response system for public facilities may become tighter, so that such disasters may not be repeated. In addition, if it occurs, the governor and/or mayor will be arrested or corresponding serious punishment and dismissal will be considered.”

  Both the bereaved families and Secretary General Lee hoped that many people would remember the Osong Underpass Disaster. Ms. Yu said, “It is something that anyone living in Korea can experience. I want everyone to remember that the country should protect the people’s right to life, but it did not protect that right to life in this instance. Just because it’s raining, people do not go out thinking, ‘If I go somewhere on a rainy day, I can die’ and ‘I should be aware of a flood,’ but it actually happened. I hope everyone thinks that this is not caused by just bad luck, but by the incompetence and mistakes of the mayor and governor. Furthermore, I hope people remember this disaster continuously. A lot of attention and support are needed to punish them in this the first case of violation of Serious Accident  Punishment Act.

  Jo, also added “I did not expect this to happen to me. I hope that my loved ones will no longer live in danger. I still have people I love, and I want to make a small effort to help them to live in a safe society. So, I hope that many people will remember this disaster that has already occurred. It takes many people’s efforts to prevent the same mistake from being repeated.