South Korea's push and stampede on Itaewon Halloween, Itaewon, Seoul, South Korea killed 154 people. President Yoon Seo-yeol launched a memorial service today. Meanwhile, authorities are facing allegations that loose abortion control policies have led to the disaster.
AFP reported that Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife presented white flowers to the large altar set up by the victims of the Itaewon accident on the 29th in downtown Seoul. Many people also came to greet each other, and some people were kneeling in front of the black altar covered with rows of white flowers.
In the Itaewon area where the incident occurred, people also stopped to pray and offer flowers at a temporary commemorative event office outside a subway station.
As potential shortcomings in abortion control and public security emerge, calls for accountability on the media and the Internet have risen today.
It was estimated that as many as 100,000 people flocked to the winding alleys of Itaewon at that time, mostly young people in their teenagers and 20s, many wearing Halloween costumes, and witnesses described the on-site safety measures inadequate and no abortion control.
Police said at a briefing today that they deployed 137 police officers for the event and pointed out that the number is significantly higher than in previous years. But local media reported that most of the police sent were focused on drug control rather than abortion control.
A professor named Li from the Department of Fire and Disasters of Seoul University told YTN Television: "This disaster could have been controlled or prevented, but no one was responsible and dealt with related issues from the beginning."
Some people online also claimed that the police did not actively manage the flow of people this year, resulting in too many people gathering around the subway station and in the alleys at the scene of the incident.
Twitter user @isakchoi312 wrote: "I have lived in Itaewon for 10 years and celebrate Halloween every year, but yesterday (29th) was not particularly crowded compared with previous years." "At the end of the day, I think the cause of this disaster is the abortion control."
It is also reported that a stampede in Itaewon in South Korea caused 154 deaths and 149 minor and serious injuries. The South Korean government announced today that it will provide a maximum of 15 million won (about 7.6 yuan) funeral expenses and full medical expense subsidy.
Korean Ministry of Administrative Safety Management Minister Jin Xinghao released the above measures at a press conference this morning. The authorities have arranged for specialized personnel to contact the families of the deceased one-on-one and assist in handling related matters at 31 funeral venues across the country.
The South Korean State Taxation Department held an emergency countermeasures meeting this morning and also decided to provide a grace period for the comprehensive income tax payment of the families of casualties with the casualties for 9 months.
According to the latest data released by the authorities this morning, the accident caused a total of 154 deaths, 33 serious injuries and 116 minor injuries; a total of 26 foreign dead were from Iran, China, Russia, the United States, Japan, France, Australia, Norway, Austria, Vietnam, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Sri Lanka . (Xue Yang/Edited)
