IT Industry Suspends Internal and External Events to Mourn Itaewon Tragedy

Major Companies and Countries' Mourning Period Guidelines: "Refrain from Company Dinners"
Halloween-Related Events and Activities Canceled or Ended Early
Naver, Kakao, Google, and Others Urge Restraint on Posts, Videos, and Misinformation Related to the Disaster

On the 31st, a citizen is paying tribute to the victims at the memorial space for the victims of the 'Halloween crowd' crush accident set up in front of Exit 1 of Itaewon Station on Seoul Subway Line 6 in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-sun] The information and communication technology (ICT) industry has suspended all internal and external event schedules and expressed deep condolences following the 'Itaewon Halloween crowd crush disaster.' Companies have distributed guidelines for conduct during the national mourning period to their employees, requesting restraint not only in company dinners but also in private drinking.

On the 31st, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced the cancellation of the 'Next Generation Media Week Opening Ceremony' scheduled for the 1st and stated that decisions regarding subsequent schedules will be made after discussion. Although the event is unrelated to Halloween, it was deemed inappropriate to hold the opening ceremony during the national mourning period.

The broadcasting industry has also begun canceling a series of events scheduled for early November. The Korea Cable TV Broadcasting Association canceled the '2022 Cable TV Broadcasting Awards' scheduled for the 2nd of next month. The association said, "We will review whether to proceed with the event after the mourning period." LG HelloVision, which was conducting the 'Meta Halloween Festival,' a Halloween event combining metaverse and local channel commerce until the 6th of next month, has suspended all activities.

Some companies have notified their executives and employees of internal policies to refrain from excessive drinking such as group dinners and to reduce unnecessary events during the national mourning period.

The gaming industry, which held Halloween events annually, has also collectively halted marketing activities. NCSoft, which had announced Halloween events for major games such as 'Lineage W,' has ended all related marketing. Nexon, which was running Halloween events in 13 games, has stopped all events. Smilegate’s 'Lost Ark' has prematurely ended sales of some Halloween-related limited-time products currently on sale. Netmarble announced the early termination of Halloween events in major games such as 'Seven Knights Revolution.'

Kakao has also stopped exposing Halloween-related events and content. Ground X, Kakao’s blockchain technology affiliate that released Halloween limited edition non-fungible tokens (NFTs), has ended the sale of limited edition NFTs early.

Major portals and social networking services (SNS) such as Naver and Kakao have increased accessibility to news related to the Itaewon disaster and urged caution in posting to prevent secondary and tertiary damage. Naver arranged news articles mainly focusing on special news reports on the news board. Daum created an 'ISSUE' section on its main homepage, providing instructions on how to report missing persons on the first screen.

Naver, Kakao, Facebook, YouTube, and others also requested restraint in sharing sensitive videos and indiscriminate dissemination of false information related to the 'Itaewon disaster' through cafes or blogs. They especially urged people to refrain from distributing or sharing posts, photos, and videos that could reveal the identities of victims. They also asked that any content that could hurt the deceased and their families be reported through customer service centers.

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