Yoon meets Catholic leaders to seek advice after Itaewon tragedy

SEOUL, Nov. 9 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk-yeol met with Catholic leaders Wednesday to seek their advice on how to help the nation emerge from the tragedy of the Itaewon crowd crush, his office said.

The meetings with Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taick, the archbishop of Seoul, and Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung came after the president held similar sessions with Buddhist and Protestant leaders Tuesday.

Yoon told Chung he wanted to meet with him because he was devastated by the loss of so many lives and felt "numb" over how such an accident could happen in today's South Korea, Kim Eun-hye, senior presidential secretary for press affairs, told reporters.

Chung assured the president he believes the people will feel his sincerity through his recent efforts to share their pain through visits with various sectors of society and asked that he do his best to prevent similar tragedies by improving national response systems.

During his meeting with Yeom, the president said it pains him to think of the parents who lost their children in the crowd crush, according to Kim.

The cardinal advised the president that it is easy to discern what a child wants when they are observed through a parent's eyes and that he will pray Yoon will develop such eyes for the people.

Kim's voice cracked as she was overcome with emotion while relaying the remarks to reporters.

hague@yna.co.kr
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