[Itaewon Tragedy] Majority of the Deceased Are Residents of Seoul and Gyeonggi... Yongsan-gu Mourning Period Until Year-End

Among 154 People, 106 Are in the Seoul Metropolitan Area: 63 in Seoul, 38 in Gyeonggi, and 5 in Incheon

Citizens are paying their respects at the joint memorial altar for the victims of the Itaewon tragedy set up at Seoul Plaza in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 31st. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Among the 154 victims who died in the Itaewon crowd crush disaster in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, it has been confirmed that, excluding Seoul residents, the majority were residents of Gyeonggi Province.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) announced that, as of 6 p.m. on the 31st, the number of deceased by region was highest in Seoul (63), followed by Gyeonggi (38), Incheon (5), Daejeon and Chungnam (4 each), Ulsan and Jeonnam (3 each), Gwangju (2), and Daegu, Chungbuk, Jeonbuk, Gyeongbuk, Gyeongnam, and Jeju (1 each). There were 26 unidentified addresses, among which 25 were foreigners and 1 was a Korean national.

By age group, those in their 20s accounted for the majority with 102 people, followed by 31 in their 30s, 12 in their teens, and 8 in their 40s. There was also 1 person in their 50s.

The number of foreign victims was 26, originating from 14 countries including Iran, China, and Russia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the list and whereabouts of the victims and notified the respective embassies in Korea, assigning one Ministry official per foreign victim or injured person for assistance.

In addition to the deceased, there were 149 injured persons in total, including 33 seriously injured and 116 lightly injured. The numbers of deceased and injured remained the same as those recorded at 6 a.m. and 11 a.m. that day.

The police are conducting pre-indictment investigations on six cases related to the spread of false information online regarding this incident and have requested deletion and blocking of 63 cases.

Furthermore, around 2 p.m. on the same day, a joint on-site inspection was conducted by 40 police officers and 7 personnel from the National Forensic Service.

Seoul City designated the mourning period in Yongsan-gu from October 30 to December 31, canceling all events and festivals during this time.

The government plans to hold a CDSCH meeting at 8:30 a.m. on the 1st, chaired by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, to discuss support for accident victims and follow-up measures related to the declaration of a special disaster area.

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