11 emergency calls had warned what was going to happen, police call log shows

Mourners form a long line near Itaewon Station Exit 1, just a few meters from where over 150 people died on a horrific Halloween night out on Saturday. One by one they get a white chrysanthemum from a makeshift table, which they lay down at a memorial altar for the victims set up nearby. The flowers have been brought by Kim Seo-joon, a 31-year-old man who runs a flower shop in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul. He brought more than 300 white chrysanthemums to Itaewon on Wednesday morning to give aw

Prime Minister Han Duk-soo on Wednesday issued an apology for a joke he made during the previous day’s press conference related to the Itaewon tragedy. “No matter what the circumstances are, I apologize for making the people uncomfortable,” he said in a message that he relayed to reporters through the Prime Minister’s Office. During Tuesday’s foreign media briefing, Han became the subject of controversy for what was perceived by some as “light-hearted behavior

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed above 50,000 for the second straight day Wednesday amid concerns over a possible outbreak of a "twindemic" of the pandemic and seasonal influenza this winter. The country reported 54,766 new COVID-19 infections, including 78 from overseas, bringing the total to 25,670,407, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. The daily caseload rebounded to 58,379 on Tuesday after falling below 20,000 on Monday. Daily infections stayed be

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon apologized Tuesday over the Halloween crowd crush that killed at least 156 people. "As the mayor of Seoul who is responsible for the lives and safety of citizens, I feel infinite responsibility for the accident and express my deepest apologies," Oh said in a tearful voice during a news conference at his office. "The Seoul city government will do its best to mobilize all its administrative power until all funeral procedures are completed and the bereaved fami

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Tuesday voiced the need to improve the government's measures for crowd management after the deadly Halloween crush that killed at least 156 people. "Voluntary events without organizers are clearly seen as something that needs to be improved in institutional measures," Han told foreign journalists as he briefed them about the government's handling of the disaster. Han also pointed out institutional measures for crowd management were insufficient

National police chief Yoon Hee-keun apologized Tuesday over the weekend Halloween crowd crush, saying he feels "heavy responsibility" and vowing to look thoroughly into what went wrong with the police response. Yoon, commissioner general of the National Police Agency, made the remark amid criticism of the police response to the Halloween crowd surge that has left at least 156 people, mostly in their 20s, killed and 30 others seriously injured in South Korea's deadliest disaster in

Among the victims from last weekend’s Halloween disaster in Itaewon are foreign exchange students, tourists and overseas fans of Korean culture on a much-anticipated trip here after the pandemic. Major media outlets around the world have shared the stories of those who perished in Seoul when Halloween celebrations turned deadly. Anne Gieske had just turned 20 Saturday was one day after Anne Gieske’s 20th birthday. A nursing student at the University of Kentucky, she was in Ko

In the aftermath of the deadly Itaewon crowd crush on Saturday, social media quickly filled with videos and posts, some purportedly from eyewitnesses. But unsubstantiated claims also emerged and spread. The joint investigation by police and the National Forensic Service has begun into the cause of the incident. Here is what we know so far. Was it a stampede or a crowd crush? The tragic incident has been described as a “stampede,” “crowd crush” or “crowd surge&rdqu

Complacency cost innocent young lives despite Korea's proven record of orderly massive gatherings

Amid lack of public mental health care in other languages, counselors from abroad step in to help grieving expats

The tragedy in Itaewon claimed over 150 innocent lives, many of whom were in their 20s and just wanted to celebrate their first mask-free Halloween since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some of their stories. A family night out meets a tragic end The pictures of a mother and daughter are placed side-by-side on the altar at a funeral parlor in southern Seoul. Eighty or so middle school students in uniform line up to pay their respects. The daughter, a 15-year-old middle school studen

The deadly crowd crush in Itaewon has plunged the public into grief and concern, as the tragedy took place in a popular area in the heart of Seoul. Many in their 20s and 30s -- the age group with the largest number of casualties -- are gripped by the feeling that they could have been in that situation. As of Tuesday morning, there were 156 casualties. “I was going to go a party in Itaewon that night. I didn’t go because of other last-minute plans, but that could have happened to me,

Police launch internal investigation to determine mishandling of police reports

One of the 26 foreign victims of Saturday night’s Itaewon tragedy has been identified as the niece of a US politician -- Rep. Brad Wenstrup. Twenty-year-old Anne Marie Geiske is one of the two American victims of the deadly disaster, according to the office for the representative of Ohio’s 2nd congressional district on Monday. “Monica and I, and our entire family, are grieving the loss of our niece Anne Marie Gieske. She was a gift from God to our family. We loved her so much,&