A memorial service is being held in front of the presidential office on Saturday to mark the 10th anniversary of the “Songpa three mothers and daughters” who took their own lives because they were despairing of their living conditions. By Jung Hyo-jin

"Ten years ago, we saw a note saying, 'I'm sorry,' written by a mother and two daughters who lived in Songpa-gu, Seoul, and, in January of last year, we again saw another note saying, 'I'm sorry,’ written by a mother and two daughters who lived in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. The same thing is still happening over and over again.”

At around 11:05 a.m. on February 26, a memorial service for the 10th anniversary of the death of the mother and two daughters in Songpa-gu was held in front of the War Memorial Hall opposite the presidential office in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Ten years ago, on February 26, 2014, a mother and two daughters who lived in the basement of a detached house in Songpa-gu, Seoul, killed themselves. They left a suicide note saying, "I'm sorry to the house owner," along with 700,000 won for monthly rent and utility bills. It is also known that they had applied for basic living security benefits but were rejected.

Around 30 people who participated in the memorial service to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of the mother and two daughters, held chrysanthemum flowers in one hand and signs in the other hand that read, "Marking the 10th anniversary of Songpa mother and daughters’ death, the government should build a tight social safety net” and “Let's not forget the Songpa mother and daughters. Let’s make a world without poverty in solidarity of remembrance."

On the road opposite the presidential office, the memorial altar for the mother and daughters had about 30 white chrysanthemum flowers laid by the participants, including rice cakes and apples. The participants bowed their heads in reverence as monks from the Jogye Order recited prayers in front of the memorial altar. One participant laid a flower, bowed down on the floor, closed his eyes and bowed for a long time.

The memorial service was organized by the Joint Action to Restore the Basic Livelihood Security Act, the Korean Buddhist Jogye Order Social and Labor Committee, and the Joint Action to Abolish the Three Enemies of the Disabled and Poor. Citizens and related group activists in the blind spot of poverty and welfare, including the disabled, homeless, and victims of jeonse fraud, participated.

The participants said they sympathized with the deaths of the mother and daughters. "As a citizen of the country, I am sorry that the Songpa mother and daughters expressed their apologies to the country and their landlord until the moment they died," said Ha Jung-hee, co-chairperson of the National Task Force for Victims of Jeonse Fraud. "The victims of jeonse fraud must have felt dozens of times how desperate and lonely it is to die in poverty.”

The situation of the poor being forced to their deaths remains the same. "Seven victims of jeonse scam have been dead so far, and I'm afraid they will be forgotten by the people," Ha said. Kim Ho-tae, former head of a neighborhood association in Dongja-dong said, "About 100 of the 1,000 residents of subdivided flats in Dongja-dong have also died, and the government has promised to provide public rental housing, but nothing has really changed."

They said that even after the deaths of the mother and daughters in Songpa-gu, the challenge of improving the system remains. "The government made promises to change the welfare system after the Songpa incident, but there was no system for them to apply for even after it was changed,” “said Kim Yoon-young, an activist with the Poverty Social Solidarity Center.

A forum was held at the Anti-Poverty Movement Space in Yongsan-gu to discuss the challenges of improving the Songpa Mother and Daughters Act. The Act is a bill that includes amendments to the Basic Livelihood Security Act and to the Emergency Welfare Support Act, and a new Social Security Benefit Act.

Jeong Seong-sik, a researcher at the Citizen Health Research Institute, said, "The repetition of tragedies such as the Songpa incident is evidence that there is a big hole in the medical safety net," adding, "There are about 730,000 people who meet the income criteria but do not qualify for medical benefits due to the standard of dependents."