[Itaewon Tragedy] Companies Suspend Halloween Marketing... Event Cancellations and Participation in Mourning (Comprehensive)

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 Reporters Sunmi Park, Hyesun Lim, Seungyoon Song] As hundreds of casualties occurred in the Itaewon crowd crush tragedy ahead of Halloween, companies actively joined in mourning. They reduced or canceled internal and external events and also suspended related marketing and promotions. Companies distributed guidelines for behavior during the national mourning period to their employees, requesting them to refrain from not only company dinners but also private drinking.

According to the industry on the 31st, Samsung Electronics plans to hold its upcoming anniversary event on the 1st of next month as modestly and quietly as possible. At the Suwon plant, only internal events such as awards ceremonies for outstanding employees will be held simply with the attendance of executives and some employees. This anniversary ceremony was the first major event since Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s promotion. It followed the format of a quiet inauguration without an inauguration ceremony or speech, but the social atmosphere also played a role as the national mourning period continues until the 5th of next month.

The home appliance industry quickly suspended various marketing and events planned during the Halloween period. Samsung Electronics ended early the Halloween gourmet party event scheduled to be held for three days from the 28th in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, immediately after the Itaewon crowd crush tragedy occurred. The SmartThings Daily Life Diary advertisement featuring ghost characters to capture the Halloween atmosphere was also stopped from exposure. LG Electronics ended early the Halloween event at the ‘ThinQ Escape Room Cafe’ operated in Gangnam-gu.

Samsung C&T Corporation also ended early the Everland Halloween festival, which was scheduled to run until the 20th of next month. Korea Airports Corporation completely canceled the commemorative events for the resumption of Jeju Air’s Gimpo-Osaka route and China Airlines’ Gimpo-Taipei route, which were to be held on the 3rd floor of Gimpo Airport’s international terminal the day before. Major economic organizations issued statements expressing condolences related to the Itaewon tragedy and began postponing events.

The gaming industry, which held Halloween events every year, also suspended all marketing activities. NCSoft, which announced Halloween events for major games such as ‘Lineage W,’ and Nexon, which held Halloween events in 13 games, ended all events. Kakao also stopped related events and content exposure.

Major portals and social networking services (SNS) such as Naver and Kakao increased accessibility to news related to the Itaewon tragedy and urged caution in posting to prevent secondary and tertiary damage. They also requested restraint in sharing sensitive videos and indiscriminate spreading of false information related to the ‘Itaewon tragedy’ through cafes or blogs.

The distribution industry also joined the atmosphere of refraining from marketing. Lotte Group ended Halloween events and promotions prepared at department stores, Lotte Mart, and affiliates, while Shinsegae canceled all events at department stores, E-Mart, Starbucks stores, and other affiliates. Convenience stores such as GS25 and CU also canceled events and promotions, participating in the mourning atmosphere. The hotel industry completely suspended planned parties and Halloween dessert promotions. The Korea Sale Festa, a large-scale year-end event in the distribution sector, also canceled its opening ceremony in line with the mourning atmosphere.

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