[Itaewon Tragedy] Police Initially 200 Officers... Could Not Handle Tens of Thousands Crowd

Illegal Filming and Drug Crackdown Scheduled
Expected Crowd of 100,000
No On-Site Management Personnel Available

On the morning of the 30th, the site of the fatal accident in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, is being restricted from access. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] On the night of the 29th, at Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, it was reported that at least tens of thousands of people gathered ahead of Halloween. The police also anticipated a large influx of young people in Itaewon, but they have been criticized for escalating the situation by not deploying enough personnel to manage the scene on the day.

According to a compilation of reports on the 30th, the police expected a crowd of 100,000 on the day of the incident and deployed 200 officers to focus on cracking down on illegal filming and drug-related crimes. All were personnel under the jurisdiction of the Yongsan Police Station in Seoul, and they were originally scheduled to conduct drug crackdowns around Itaewon starting from 10:30 PM. However, from around 10:15 PM, a patient suffering cardiac arrest began to appear as the crowd was pushed in a narrow and steep alley where the incident occurred, leading to the cancellation of the crackdown.

The police urgently sent the personnel to the accident area to manage the situation. However, it was reported that it was already difficult to take even a single step in the area. Even when the police, together with the fire department, tried to rescue the victims trapped underneath, it was not easy due to the crowd being tightly packed and entangled. From the start, the number of personnel was far too insufficient to manage the scene or handle the accident. This is also the background for the criticism that despite anticipating a massive crowd, the police neglected on-site management, resulting in a major disaster.

Jung Sang-man, President of the Korea Disaster Safety Technology Institute, pointed out, "This disaster is a third-world type accident," and said, "It was already recognized that a large crowd would gather in Itaewon, but I think the government's response was insensitive." On the other hand, Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said at an emergency briefing held at the Seoul Government Complex on the same day, "Police and fire personnel were deployed at normal levels," adding, "Compared to before, there was not an unusually large crowd," and "Based on current understanding, this was not a problem that could have been resolved simply by pre-deploying police or fire personnel, unlike usual."

Meanwhile, on the same day in downtown Seoul, the police deployed as many as 6,500 officers to prepare for any emergencies at large-scale rallies estimated to have involved about 60,000 participants from both conservative and progressive sides. Although there was some traffic congestion around the area, this response was evaluated as successful in ending the rallies between progressives and conservatives without major clashes.

The police have formed an investigation headquarters regarding the Itaewon disaster and plan to conduct a full investigation into the cause of the accident. Since the scene quickly turned chaotic and the initial cause of the accident is unclear, they plan to determine the cause based on statements from reporters, witnesses, and nearby business operators, as well as CCTV footage. Additionally, they will examine whether the local government in charge had properly implemented accident prevention measures in advance.

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