Relatives and acquaintances pay their respects to Gwangju joint memorial site

[Anchor]

A wave of mourning continues to honor the victims of the tragedy.

A joint memorial altar has been set up in Gwangju, where the number of victims is the highest, and the flow of mourners has not ceased.

We connect to our reporter.

Son Min-joo, it’s getting late, what is the situation there?

[Report]

Yes, I am at the Gwangju joint memorial altar located at the 5.18 Democracy Plaza.

Citizens have been coming here all day to pay their respects to the victims.

Today (12.30), more than 2,300 citizens visited the Gwangju joint memorial altar to honor the spirits of the victims.

Since most of the victims are residents of Gwangju and Jeonnam Province, there were many relatives and acquaintances among the mourners.

Young students also came to mourn their friends who left too soon with tears.

Citizens expressed their sorrow as they mourned the victims.

[Park ○○/Friend of a victim, middle school student: "Whenever I pass by the neighborhood, I remember the things I did with that friend. Since I live next door to him, I think of him when I pass by that area."]

[Choi Hyung-seong/Dong-gu, Gwangju: "They could all be neighbors or acquaintances. It feels like family in some way."]

The local civic community also followed with a mourning procession.

Local religious communities, including Buddhism and Christianity, held memorial services for the victims, and local government leaders and members of the National Assembly also visited the memorial altar.

A joint memorial altar was also set up today at the Muan Sports Park in Jeonnam Province, where the tablets of over 140 identified victims were enshrined to receive mourners.

The Central Accident Response Headquarters has decided to set up joint memorial altars in 17 cities and provinces nationwide.

This has been Son Min-joo from KBS News at the Gwangju 5.18 Democracy Plaza.