Govt. to strengthen crowd management ahead of Halloween festivities

With Halloween and other festivities fast approaching, the government announced on Tuesday that it will strengthen its crowd safety measures for areas expecting large gatherings.

During a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min stated that the ministry will implement a series of intensive crowd management measures in 27 areas expecting large gatherings for eight days from Oct. 25.

The ministry’s crowd control measures come two years after South Korea’s deadliest crowd crush, a tragedy that left 159 people dead at Halloween festivities in Itaewon in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul.

Lee added that the ministry will dispatch situation managers to 12 out of the 27 areas that expect to see especially large crowds, including Itaewon, Hongdae, Myeong-dong and Seongsu-dong in Seoul, Seo-myeon in Busan and Dongseong-ro in Daegu.

The situation managers dispatched to these sites will work with relevant organizations, such as district offices, police and fire departments to closely check whether safety management personnel have been dispatched there according to the safety management plan as well as the emergency response system. The situation managers will also manage on-site crowd control measures until crowds are determined to have completely dispersed.

“(The ministry) will work with local governments, police and firefighting officials as well as other related organizations to ensure that people can enjoy the fall festivities safely,” said Lee during Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo also ordered relevant organizations to thoroughly respond to the risk of crowd crush incidents, including those that could occur over Halloween.

“As the second anniversary of the tragic Itaewon crowd crush approaches, the government will remember that it has unlimited responsibility for the safety of its people and will do everything in its power to create a ‘safe Korea,’” said Han. “I ask all ministries and relevant agencies to keep in mind that accidents can happen unexpectedly (…) and for local government leaders to take responsibility and ensure thorough on-site management.”

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry added that the government will strengthen its safety management system for dealing with large crowds by January 2025 by creating a standard crisis manual for responding to similar accidents.