Prime Minister Han Duck-soo speaks at a press conference with foreign media on the Itaewon crowd disaster at the Korea Press Center in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Prime Minister's Office

By Lee Hae-rin

While President Yoon Suk-yeol has visited the memorial altar to the victims of the Halloween crowd disaster four days in a row since Monday, the gaffes of his close aides have infuriated the public.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo offered an apology for an inappropriate joke made during a press conference on the incident with foreign reporters at the Korea Press Center, Tuesday.

"Regardless of its context, I apologize for making people uncomfortable (with my behavior)," Han said in a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office, Wednesday.

When asked by a foreign correspondent what the prime minister thought about "where the Korea government's responsibility begins and ends, especially in a situation that seems like it is no one's fault," referring to the Itaewon disaster, Han said that he was unable to hear the question well because of the interpreter and asked the reporter to repeat the question.

After answering that Korea needs to improve its crowd management system, the prime minister looked around and answered jokingly with a smile, "What are the beginning and the end of the responsibility of someone responsible for this audio issue?" The joke was not translated into English by the interpreter.

The way the prime minister reacted sparked fierce criticism online. Many saw his behavior as inappropriate and too light-hearted and claimed that such a high-ranking government official should have been more serious considering the circumstances.

In a statement, the Prime Minister's Office said Han intended to "ask for forgiveness from the foreign correspondents about the delay caused by technical issues," as many complained that they could not hear the interpretation.

Rep. Cho Eung-cheon of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) criticized Han's behavior during an interview on a local radio news program, Thursday.

"The prime minister is the second-highest official after the president and he dared to think about making a joke amid these circumstances? I believe he is either unaware of what the role of the prime minister entails or wasn't taking his job seriously," the lawmaker said.

Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min has also been slammed for some remarks which have been seen as reckless. He apologized for a statement made during Sunday's briefing, which had also caused a stir. The day after the tragedy on Sunday, the minister said the crowd crush "was not a problem that the advance deployment of police and firefighting forces could have solved," and that "the security forces were dispersed due to protests in various spots in downtown Seoul."

His remarks were lambasted as "irresponsible."

"I offer my humble apology to the people for the accident," he said during a meeting of the National Policy Committee at the National Assembly, Tuesday. He said the government has "unlimited responsibility for the safety of the people" and promised to take necessary measures to investigate the cause of the tragedy, manage post-accident procedures and prevent future disasters.

Lee Byung-chul, a YouTuber and Taoist, speaks about the Itaewon crowd tragedy in a video posted on his YouTube channel on Wednesday. Screenshot from the internet

Meanwhile, Lee Byung-chul, a YouTuber and guru of Jeongbeob (a branch of Taoism) more widely known by his pseudonym Chun-gong, is also at the center of controversy for his remarks. He called the Itaewon tragedy a "heaven-sent opportunity" for Korea to engage in diplomacy and that public fundraising, rather than the government's budget, should assist the bereaved families, as the tragedy is "everybody's fault."

His remarks added pressure on the president as he is known to be a personal mentor of Yoon.

In September, Lee was spotted with Yoon and first lady Kim Keon-hee during their visit to the Korean community in New York. During a televised debate in October last year, Yoon, who was running to become the People Power Party's presidential candidate at the time, admitted that he had "met with Lee with my wife a few times." In an interview with local news media YTN that month, Lee said that he is not Yoon's mentor but had nevertheless "advised him to resign as the prosecutor general" to join the presidential race.

In the video uploaded to his YouTube channel on Wednesday, Lee was asked what the Korean government should do in response to global leaders' condolence messages regarding the Itaewon tragedy.

"Good opportunities are rare. Our children's sacrifice, which was of such great scale, will make the world look back on us," he said in the video. "To make Korea's sacrifice worthwhile, we must take advantage of the opportunity and do something truly rewarding for the world."

He went on to suggest that high-ranking officials, including the president, prime minister, first lady and lawmakers, write handwritten letters to their foreign counterparts to express their gratitude for their condolences. "This is an amazing opportunity. We can join (the global community) again," he said. "We have to make this an opportunity for adults to come to their senses, and there shouldn't be any attempts to hold anyone responsible."

In another video, he said that people should grieve the victims every morning and said the young victims' deaths should be made into a source of energy for the country's development.