Officials from a group of bereaved families of the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush victims and a civic group march down a street in central Seoul, June 16, as they change the location of a memorial altar for the victims. Yonhap

A memoir by former National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo has sparked political debate with the claim that President Yoon Suk Yeol speculated the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush may have been fabricated.

In his memoir revealed Thursday, Kim recounted his private conversation with Yoon during a breakfast prayer meeting, held a week after 159 people were killed in a crowd crush during Halloween festivities in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood on Oct. 29, 2022.

During their meeting, Kim advised Yoon that Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min needs to voluntarily step down to take responsibility over the deadly incident and prevent a political deadlock that could delay the passage of the 2023 budget bill.

At the time, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) had proposed an impeachment bill against Lee over the government's mishandling of the incident.

In response, Yoon said he had not decided regarding Lee due to "strong suspicions" about the incident, saying he could not "rule out the possibility that it might have been induced and manipulated by certain forces."

If this were the case, Yoon said it would be unfair to make Lee step down, according to Kim.

The presidential office flatly denied Kim's claims, criticizing the former DPK lawmaker who served as parliamentary speaker from July 2022 to May 2024.

"It is deplorable that a former National Assembly speaker would distort a private conversation with the president and reveal it to the public," the presidential office said in a release Thursday.

The office did not go into details of the memoir, instead emphasizing Yoon had ordered related agencies to thoroughly investigate all allegations and had approved a special law to support the victims of the Itaewon tragedy.

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) slammed the opposition for politicizing disasters.

"It is truly deplorable that the former National Assembly speaker from the DP is behaving in this manner," PPP spokesperson Park Jun-tae said. "We urge (Kim) to immediately withdraw the baseless record and apologize."

The memoir is not yet officially published.

In contrast, the DPK called on Yoon to explain his remarks in Kim's memoir.

"If the content of Kim's memoir is true, it is very shocking," DPK floor leader Park Chan-dae said in a party leadership meeting on Friday. "The president himself should clarify his position."

Bereaved families of the victims also urged Yoon to clarify his comment on the Itaewon tragedy.

"It is hard to believe that the president of a country made remarks at the level of conspiracy theories raised on YouTube," an association of the Itaewon tragedy said in a statement.

"If that's true, Yoon should apologize to the 159 victims, their bereaved families and survivors who are still living in pain," it added. (Yonhap)