Opposition parties name members of envisioned special committee for parliamentary probe into Halloween tragedy

SEOUL, Nov. 18 (Yonhap) -- The main opposition Democratic Party and two minor parties on Friday finalized a list of lawmakers to take part in an envisioned special committee to lead a parliamentary probe into the government's bungled response to the Itaewon crowd crush.

The finalization of 11 special committee members underscores the opposition's commitment to forge ahead with a parliamentary investigation into the tragedy despite persistent objections from the ruling People Power Party.

Last week, the DP, the Justice Party and the Basic Income Party submitted a joint request to form an 18-member special committee to look into whether measures by government agencies were appropriate and whether there were attempts to minimize or cover up the tragedy that killed at least 158 people in Seoul's entertainment district of Itaewon on Oct. 29.

The PPP has strongly objected to the request, saying it could hamper ongoing police investigations into the case, but the opposition parties have been pushing ahead with the agenda to approve the special investigation plan on Nov. 24.

Once launched, the parliamentary committee will be comprised of seven members from the PPP, nine from the DP, and one each from the Justice Party and the Basic Income Party.

For its share, the DP named Reps. Kim Kyo-heung, Jin Sun-mee, Kwon Chil-seung, Cho Eung-cheon, Cheon Jun-ho, Lee Hae-sik, Shin Hyun-young and Youn Kun-young.

Four-term DP Rep. Woo Sang-ho will lead the committee.

"The members will accurately look into the problems of related organizations in the case based on their past experiences in the Cabinet, presidential office and local governments," DP spokesperson Oh Yeong-hwan said.

Rep. Jan Hye-young of the Justice Party and Rep. Yong Hye-in of the Basic Income Party also put their names on the list.

Meanwhile, the PPP reaffirmed its opposition to the parliamentary probe, saying it should be launched after police investigation results come out.

nyway@yna.co.kr
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