[Yongsan Tragedy] Yongsan-gu Fully Committed to Supporting Bereaved Families and Injured

Emergency Countermeasure Meeting Hosted by District Mayor at 11 PM on the 29th... Halloween Countermeasure and Quarantine Meetings Held Since 2020 After COVID-19... Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters and Integrated Support Headquarters Activated at 12:20 AM on the 30th... Yongsan-gu Declares Mourning Period... Suspension of Non-Essential Events and Activities Until December 31... Joint Memorial Altar Set Up at Noksapyeong Station Plaza, Operated 24 Hours Until November 5

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yongsan-gu (Mayor Park Hee-young) is mobilizing all administrative resources for a swift recovery related to the Halloween Day accident that occurred at 10:20 PM on the 29th.

Since the strengthening of social distancing measures in 2020 due to the start of COVID-19, the district has held Halloween Day quarantine strategy meetings. This year as well, an emergency countermeasure meeting was held on the 27th to prepare for ‘Halloween Day,’ checking the progress of each department’s tasks.

Safety was prioritized through on-site inspections of obstacles causing traffic inconvenience, bollards, railings, and other facilities around Itaewon, installation of safety belts on subway ventilation grates, and requests for cooperation to deploy additional safety personnel at station entrances. Preparations were completed in advance for creating a pleasant street environment by operating the 365 Clean-up Task Force, as well as for noise complaints, illegal parking enforcement, and daily quarantine measures.

An official from the Safety and Disaster Department stated, “Unlike the Itaewon Global Village Festival, Halloween Day is spontaneously organized without a host, making it difficult to manage,” adding, “We are mobilizing all administrative power to ensure this unfortunate situation is resolved as quickly as possible.”

On the night of the 29th when the accident occurred, an emergency situation room was established at 11 PM, and an emergency countermeasure meeting was held with the mayor and 25 senior officials attending. From 12:20 AM on the 30th, the Disaster Safety Countermeasure Headquarters and the Integrated Disaster Site Support Headquarters were activated.

Yongsan-gu Mayor Park Hee-young said, “Accurately understanding the situation is the shortcut to solving the problem,” and mentioned, “On the day of the accident, I spent the entire day at the site with the thought of rescuing even one more person through rapid rescue.”

From 5:30 AM on the 30th, a missing persons reception center was set up and operated at Hannam-dong Community Center. Twenty-three district employees were deployed in shifts, receiving a total of 4,442 missing person reports (4,346 by phone) as of 9 AM.

The district declared the mourning period in Yongsan-gu until December 31. During this period, unnecessary events and group activities such as neighborhood association workshops and community center programs will be suspended.

A joint memorial altar was set up at Noksapyeong Station Plaza (134 Itaewon-ro) as a space to mourn the victims. The joint memorial altar will operate from October 31 to November 5. It operates 24 hours a day with 12 staff members. During this period, a separate booth will be installed at the joint memorial altar where two professional psychological counselors will be stationed to support the emotional healing of the bereaved families.

Following the declaration of Yongsan-gu as a special disaster area on the 30th, close cooperation with related organizations such as the central government and Seoul City will continue to provide practical support for the bereaved families of the deceased and the injured. As a rapid support measure for the injured and bereaved families, medical support and funeral support services will be provided through one-on-one matching.

Meanwhile, Yongsan-gu (Mayor Park Hee-young) has collected and carefully stored all lost items left at the Wonhyo-ro Multipurpose Gymnasium, where the deceased and injured from the Itaewon accident were taken on the day of the accident, and is returning them.

The mayor instructed to find all the scattered belongings while handling the casualties, and subsequently, 1.5 tons of memory fragments were gathered.

Yongsan-gu announced that it will operate a lost property storage center at Wonhyo-ro Multipurpose Gymnasium (51-58 Wonhyo-ro 3-ga) to return all these items without exception to the precious families. Wallets, photos, torn pieces of clothing, and necklaces with broken strings are all being kept, so bereaved families can come to retrieve them anytime.

Mayor Park Hee-young said, “I hope that all the memories weighing 1.5 tons can return to the arms of their precious families,” and added, “I hope Yongsan-gu’s small effort can bring some comfort to the bereaved families.”

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