South Korea's National Assembly has voted to approve a bill backed by the ruling and opposition parties to launch a fresh investigation into a deadly Halloween crowd crush in the capital Seoul in 2022.
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An earlier bill, which was backed by the opposition-led parliament without the support of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), was vetoed by President Yoon Suk-yeol in January.
The bill passed on Thursday is a compromise that removes granting full investigative power to the panel, which Yoon had objected to, according to his office.
Under the bill, a committee made up of members recommended by two major parties and a chair chosen by them will look into the tragedy, which killed 159 people and injured 196 others.
The passage of the bill comes after Yoon met opposition leader Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party for talks on Monday following the PPP's crushing general election defeat in April.
It also comes amid growing pressure on authorities, including from relatives of the victims, to hold those responsible for the fatal crush to account.
"The Yoon Suk Yeol government must respond earnestly and ... not try to hide or minimise anything," said Joung Mi-ra, the mother of one of the mostly young people who were killed.
Relatives of the victims as well as the United Nations Human Rights Committee have called for an independent inquiry into the circumstances of the crush among a crowd of Halloween partygoers in Seoul's Itaewon district.
A police investigation published in early 2023 concluded that a lack of preparation and an inadequate response were the main factors behind the deaths.
In January, South Korean prosecutors indicted the former head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency , charging him with contributing through negligence to the crush.
No senior government figures, including the interior and safety minister, have resigned or been sacked so far over the crush.
Parliament separately voted to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the death of a marine while conducting a search and rescue operation during last year's massive floods in South Korea.
Members of the ruling PPP boycotted the vote.
Opposition party members allege the government has attempted a cover-up in an internal investigation by the Marine Corps. Yoon's office said the vote was politically motivated.
Australian Associated Press
