Yongsan Ward office to provide relief payment to foreign victims of Itaewon crush

 The Yongsan Ward office began Wednesday to receive applications for disaster relief funds from families of foreign victims killed in the Itaewon crowd crush, officials said.

The South Korean government is providing 20 million won (US$14,102) in relief assistance to victims, both Koreans and foreigners, of the Oct. 29 disaster on top of up to 15 billion won in financial assistance to cover funeral expenses.

Initially, families of foreign victims were required to apply for the financial aid at different municipal offices governing the location of each victim’s residence, but the Yongsan Ward office took over to handle foreign applications on its own.

The crowd crush happened Saturday night in a narrow alley in Seoul’s entertainment district of Itaewon and left 156 people, mostly those in their 20s, killed, including 26 foreigners.

The 26 foreign victims include five from Iran, four each from China and Russia, two from the United States, two from Japan, and one each from France, Australia, Norway, Austria, Vietnam, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Sri Lanka.

Once applications are filed at the Yongsan office, the financial aid will be paid after embassy and foreign ministry officials review them.