According to British media reports, Yoon Hee-gun, director of the South Korean Police Department, admitted that the police were "significantly responsible" for failing to prevent the stampede accident that killed more than 150 people during the Halloween celebration in Seoul. He said Tuesday that police failed to effectively handle earlier calls about the upcoming disaster.
South Korean authorities are facing increasing public scrutiny, and the public's most concerned issues are: last Saturday night, the surge in the crowds in the Itaewon district of Seoul ( Itaewon is a famous nightlife neighborhood) and the resulting stampede accident should have been avoided, and who should be responsible for the country's worst disaster in many years.
Yoon Hee Keun, director of the Korean Police Department, said at a TV press conference, "As the head of the relevant departments, I feel that I feel (for this disaster). The police will do their best to prevent tragedies like again."
Yoon Hee Keun said that preliminary investigations found that many citizens in Itaewon urgently called the authorities, saying that there were potential dangers of crowds gathering in Itaewon, but "the police who received the call did not respond in a satisfactory way."
Yin said that the police then launched a fierce internal investigation to thoroughly investigate the handling of these calls by the police at that time, and their on-site response to the surge in the crowd in Itaewon that night, and other issues.
This disaster killed at least 156 people and injured 151 people concentrated in a narrow downhill alley in Itaewon. Witnesses described that the crowd fell together, causing the dilemma of overwhelming people. The suppressed person soon developed severe breathing difficulties and lost consciousness. They also recalled that rescuers and ambulances failed to reach the crowded alley in time because the entire Itaewon area was filled with slow-moving vehicles and a group of party members in Halloween costumes.
South Korean President Yoon Seo-yeol also admitted at yesterday's State Council meeting that "insufficient research on population management in large gatherings." He called for the use of drone and other high-tech resources to develop effective crowd control capabilities. He said authorities will soon hold a meeting with experts to review security rules in South Korea.
This is the deadliest disaster in South Korea since the ferry sinking in 2014. The ferry sinking accident killed 304 people, revealing the country's lax safety regulations and ineffective supervision. The crowd stampede accident last Saturday sparked public doubts about the work South Korea has done to prevent man-made disasters.
After the Itaewon accident, South Korea's police have set up a special investigation team of 475 people to investigate the cause of the accident.
South Korean senior police officer Nam Gu-Jun told reporters on Monday that police had obtained videos taken by about 50 security cameras in the area and were analyzing video clips posted on social media. Nam said police have also interviewed more than 40 witnesses and survivors so far.
Police said they dispatched 137 police officers to maintain order during Saturday's Halloween celebrations, far exceeding the 34-90 police officers dispatched before the pandemic in 2017, 2018 and 2019. But some observers question whether 137 police officers are enough to cope with the approximately 100,000 people gathered in Itaewon on Saturday.
Earlier on Saturday, South Korean authorities sent 7,000 police officers to another area in Seoul to monitor the protests involving tens of thousands, which raised more questions about the role of the police. Police also admitted that the 137 police officers sent to Itaewon are mainly responsible for monitoring criminal activities, especially drug use, rather than controlling crowds.
Officially said that 29 injured were seriously injured and the number of victims may continue to rise. The victims also included about 26 foreigners from Iran, China, Russia, the United States, Japan and other countries.
President Yin asked, " to provide the same authorities to support the families of foreign victims and the dead and injured in South Korea." He also thanked many world leaders for sending condolences in this disaster.
Itaewon area is famous for its friendly and international atmosphere to foreigners. is a popular place for South Korea to host Halloween themed events and parties. . Korean young people will participate in clothing competitions in bars, clubs and restaurants.
About 100,000 people attended the rally on Saturday, Itaewon, the largest Halloween celebration in the region since the outbreak began.
Itaewon Halloween event has no official organizer. South Korean police said Monday they did not have any specific procedures to deal with events such as crowd surges that occurred during events without organizers.
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