[Itaewon Tragedy] Is It Difficult to Clearly Identify Responsibility for the Accident?

Police Investigating Exact Accident Details... Also Reviewing Whether Businesses Comply with Safety Obligations
Expert: "Event Involves Voluntary Citizen Participation... Difficult to Identify Specific Companies, Individuals, or Local Governments"

On the morning of the 30th, access to the site of the fatal accident in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul is being restricted. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] On the 29th, a crush disaster occurred in the Itaewon area of Yongsan-gu, Seoul, resulting in approximately 300 casualties.

Currently, the police are investigating the exact circumstances of the accident and plan to examine whether businesses in the Itaewon area fulfilled their safety obligations. In this regard, some argue that since citizens voluntarily came out to enjoy the Halloween festival, it may be difficult to clearly assign responsibility.

The crush accident occurred around 10:20 p.m. in an alley next to the Hamilton Hotel on Itaewon-ro, Yongsan-gu. As of 30 minutes past midnight, 149 people have been confirmed dead. The number of injured has been counted at 78. Among them, 19 are seriously injured, so the scale of the damage may increase.

Experts say that because it was a festival with voluntary citizen participation, it may be difficult to clearly identify who is responsible for the accident. On the 30th, appearing on 'YTN News,' Professor Yeom Geon-ung of the Police and Fire Administration Department at U1 University said, "This was a voluntarily participated outdoor festival. There could be charges such as professional negligence resulting in death or even application of the Serious Accident Punishment Act, but since this accident involved citizens voluntarily participating, it may be difficult to hold responsibility for insufficient safety measures."

Regarding the applicability of charges such as professional negligence resulting in death and the Serious Accident Punishment Act, he said, "However, this incident happened because crowds on the sidewalk pushed and trampled each other, so it seems difficult to assign responsibility for this part. The key point is that the crowd gathered voluntarily, not that a company organized an event where the accident occurred. Therefore, while the investigation authorities need to clarify who is responsible for the cause of the accident, it may be difficult to specify a particular company, individual, or local government in this situation. This is a cautious opinion."

Golden Time Missed... Death Toll May Increase

Professor Yeom Geon-ung commented on the high number of victims, saying, "When the fire department arrived, the surroundings were too congested. In a crush situation, victims often go into shock and cardiac arrest, and the golden time is considered to be a few minutes, up to about four minutes. The fire department inevitably experienced delays. Vehicles and personnel could not enter, so ultimately, the number of victims had to increase."

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that as of 7 a.m. on the 30th, it had received about 270 missing person reports. Missing person reports related to the Itaewon crush disaster are received by the Seoul city government and forwarded to the police. On-site reception is being conducted on the 3rd floor of the Hannam-dong Community Center.

As of 6 a.m. on the same day, the fire department reported 149 deaths and 76 injuries, totaling 225 casualties. Among the deceased, 104 were confirmed dead after being transferred to various hospitals. Forty-five bodies were temporarily placed in the multipurpose indoor gymnasium on Wonhyo-ro before being moved to the morgue at Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Yongsan-gu.

Among the 76 injured, 19 are seriously injured, so the death toll is likely to rise. It was confirmed that two foreigners died and 15 were injured. The casualties were transported to Soonchunhyang University Hospital, National Medical Center, Ewha Mokdong Hospital, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, Chung-Ang University Hospital, Seoul National University Hospital, and Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.