OPPOSITION ASKS FOR PARLIAMENTARY PROBE

[Anchor Lead]

181 lawmakers of the opposition bloc Wednesday submitted to the National Assembly a request for a parliamentary investigation into the Itaewon crowd crush. The proposed investigation targets even the presidential office. However, the ruling party clearly expressed opposition to a parliamentary probe, which it said will only cause political disputes.

[Pkg]

The three opposition parties: the Democratic Party, the Justice Party and the Basic Income Party submitted a request for a parliamentary investigation. The request was signed by 181 lawmakers, including five independent officials. In the request, they pledged to find the cause and those responsible for the Itaewon stampede. The lawmakers will also look into the suspicions of flawed initial government responses and cover-up attempts. They also said one of the fundamental reasons behind the crush is the relocation of the presidential office to Yongsan, which requires an excessive number of security personnel.

[Soundbite] Park Hong-keun(Floor Leader, Democratic Party) : "The truth is being covered up with lies and evidence is being discarded little by little. This is why a parliamentary investigation is needed."

The ruling People Power Party stated a parliamentary probe is not legally binding and will only lead to political strife.

[Soundbite] Joo Ho-young(Floor Leader, People Power Party) : "Now, the investigation is going smoothly. So there must be political intentions behind the request to carry out a parliamentary investigation."

The top office also opposed the proposed parliamentary investigation, saying that a tragic incident should not be utilized for politics and the people will wisely judge the cause of the tragedy. The opposition camp is reporting the request to the parliamentary plenary session on Thursday before approving it on November 24. With the support of 181 lawmakers, the opposition lawmakers can have the request approved unilaterally. So it is highly likely that a parliamentary investigation will be carried out for the first time in six years since the one launched to look into the 2016 influence-peddling scandal surrounding then President Park Geun-hye and her confidante.

[Soundbite] Kim Jin-pyo(Nat’l Assembly speaker) : "Both investigations and parliamentary probes were conducted simultaneously whenever massive disasters like this occurred."

Some believe the ruling bloc will eventually participate in the parliamentary investigation, since it would give up opportunities to defend the Yoon administration and keep the opposition camp in check if it continues to boycott the request.