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Press Releases

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jongmoon Attends Unveiling of Memorial of Sinking of Hableany

Date
2021-06-02
hit
6555

1. On May 31, during his visit to Hungary from May 29 to June 1, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jongmoon attended the unveiling of the memorial of the sinking of the Hableany* dedicated to the victims and their families in commemoration of the second anniversary of the accident.

° The Korean participants included Vice Minister Choi Jongmoon and Korean Ambassador to Hungary Park Chulmin, while the Hungarian side consisted of Vice Foreign Minister Levente Magyar, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee Zsolt Nemeth, chairman of the Hungary-Korea parliamentary friendship association László L. Simon, and Mayor of the Municipality of District Ⅴ of Budapest Péter Szentgyorgyvolgyi. 

- The victims and their families could not attend the event due to the COVID 19 situation.

※ The Hableany, a sightseeing boat carrying 33 Korean tourists and two Hungarian crew members, capsized and sank in the Danube River in Budapest on May 29, 2019, after colliding with the Viking Sygin.

- 7 Koreans rescued, 25 Koreans and 2 Hungarians deceased, and 1 Korean missing

※※ The Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Municipality of District Ⅴ of Budapest financed about 450 thousand dollars to erect a sculpture as a memorial by the side of Margit Bridge in the vicinity of the location where the tragic accident occurred, and held the unveiling ceremony.  


2. Vice Minister Choi expressed condolences to the victims and their families and offered gratitude to the Hungarian government for its great support from the day of the accident as well as for the ceremony and to the Hungarian people who shared grief. He also requested that the Hungarian side move the judicial proceedings forward in an impartial and swift manner.

※ The criminal trial for the captain of the Viking Sygin has been delayed due to the COVID-19 situation, with only 5 rounds of the trial held over the past 15 months after the start of the trial in March 2020.

° Vice Minister Magyar said that the Hungarian government erected the memorial to express its condolences to the victims of the unprecedented boat accident in Hungarian history, adding that he was convinced that the bilateral relations between Korea and Hungary would deepen based on the lessons learned from the tragedy.


3. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to provide consular assistance to the victims and their families by sharing information and updates on the judicial proceedings, while making continued efforts to search for the remaining missing person.