Kim Hyun-su (left), secretary-general of the National Humidifier Disinfectant Victims' Solidarity, and Kim Tae-yun, co-chair of the funeral committee for the late Seo Young-cheol, hold a press conference at Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Monday, calling for an official state apology and the establishment of a proper memorial space for Seo. [Yonhap]
Kim Hyun-su (left), secretary-general of the National Humidifier Disinfectant Victims' Solidarity, and Kim Tae-yun, co-chair of the funeral committee for the late Seo Young-cheol, hold a press conference at Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Monday, calling for an official state apology and the establishment of a proper memorial space for Seo. [Yonhap]

The National Humidifier Disinfectant Victims' Solidarity has spent four consecutive days pressing the government for a full investigation and compensation, following the death of its late chairman, Seo Young-cheol.

Seo had relied on an oxygen generator and used a wheelchair in his daily life. His final wish: "When I die, do not hold a funeral — fight on at Gwanghwamun Square."

The group held a press conference Monday morning at Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno-gu, Seoul, calling on the government to listen to victims and engage with them in a more open and constructive manner.

Condolence wreaths sent by Climate and Energy Minister Kim Sung-hwan and Basic Income Party leader Yong Hye-in were displayed at the press conference site.

Ryu I, a senior adviser to the group, criticized President Lee Jae-myung, saying he had "showered victims with fine words about giving special treatment to those harmed by the state, yet never once took the hands of humidifier disinfectant disaster victims."

Ryu added that Seo's final pneumothorax had been triggered two weeks earlier when he went to Cheong Wa Dae and delivered a speech under the blazing sun without a drop of water. "A man with ruined lungs shouted so hard that the pneumothorax worsened, and he died," Ryu said.

Seo, himself a victim of humidifier disinfectant exposure, visited the emergency center at Seoul National University Hospital on Tuesday with a pneumothorax and died at the age of 69.

Honoring his final wish, the group has been at Gwanghwamun Square since Friday, demanding that the investigation into the disaster be reopened.

Kim Hyun-su, the group's secretary-general, said the amended Humidifier Disinfectant Damage Relief Act, which passed the National Assembly last March, still has significant gaps.

"Accountability and the identification of causes have been left deliberately vague," Kim said. "We can't turn back the clock, but we ask the president to at least use his authority to revise the enforcement decrees and correct what has gone wrong."

The group also clashed with the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Monday — as it had on Sunday — over the installation of a memorial space for Seo at Gwanghwamun Square.

The group said a tent was necessary to receive mourners and manage the memorial, but the Seoul Metropolitan Government said it was enforcing regulations because no application for permission to use the square had been submitted.

Around 11 a.m. Monday, as the group began its press conference and attempted to set up a table, a Seoul city official intervened, saying, "Please communicate with us first."

Members of the group then sat on the wet plaza floor in the rain and proceeded with the press conference.

In a statement, the group called on Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon to apologize, arguing that while the city cited permit requirements and fairness toward other assemblies, "it is hard to justify blocking even a temporary cover to protect the portrait and the coffin from the rain."

The group plans to hold a rally at Gwanghwamun Square on Tuesday morning, continuing its demands against the government and the Seoul Metropolitan Government for a full investigation into the disaster.


joze@heraldcorp.com