Itaewon Disaster 112 First Report at 6 AM... Police Say Stampede Occurred After 10:15 AM

119 First Report Received at 10:15 AM
Police: "Crowd Gathering Speed Varied by Time"
On Traffic Control Criticism: "Physical Traffic Volume Was Excessive"
Announced 200 People but Deployed Only 137: "200 Is Total Mobilized Personnel"

Kim Seong-ho, Director of the Disaster and Safety Management Headquarters at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (right), is briefing on the contents of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting related to the Itaewon incident with the Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, National Police Agency, and National Fire Agency at the Government Complex Sejong in Sejong City on the morning of the 1st. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] On the 29th, when the Itaewon crowd crush disaster occurred, police began receiving reports from 6 p.m., with reports increasing from 9 p.m. and surging after 10:15 p.m.

At the Itaewon accident briefing held by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on the 1st, Hwang Chang-seon, the Police Agency's Public Safety Situation Manager, said, "There was a surge in 112 emergency calls that day. From 6 p.m., one report was received, which was generally a tolerable inconvenience report," adding, "By 9 p.m., it appears there were reports serious enough to be concerning."

Hwang explained, "There were several reports after 9 p.m., one hour before the fire station received a report, and from 10:15 p.m., about 100 reports flooded in," adding, "The volume and speed of crowd gathering varied by time."

The first report to the 119 emergency call center was received at 10:15 p.m. The Yongsan 119 rescue team was the first to arrive at 10:41 p.m.

Despite police reports that road intrusions and traffic inconveniences occurred due to the crowd on the day of the accident, there were criticisms that traffic control was not properly enforced.

Regarding this, Hwang said, "A significant portion of the public safety measures were related to traffic. About 70-80% of the reports received by 112 that day were about traffic. There was even a report of people unable to leave a parking lot for an hour."

He added, "I think the traffic congestion was worsened by large gatherings in downtown areas such as Samgakji, connected to Itaewon," and said, "Traffic control is something the police can enforce as needed, but I believe the physical traffic volume at that time was somewhat excessive to take action."

He continued, "Immediately after the incident, it was difficult for ambulances to get through, so the first action was to gather patrol cars from nearby police stations to secure ambulance passage."

There was also controversy over the police initially announcing they would deploy more than 200 officers in Itaewon in preparation for the Halloween crowd but deploying only 137. Hwang explained, "The figure of over 200 refers to the total mobilized personnel."

He added, "The number of officers deployed varies on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Saturday was considered the peak, so a maximum of 137 officers were mobilized to the fullest," and explained, "The decision on personnel deployment is the responsibility of the police chief, who listens to the opinions of staff before assessing the demand."

Hwang said, "As I mentioned before, we did not foresee such a large-scale incident happening," and explained, "Every year, many crimes occur, and the police's basic duties focus on crime and traffic disorder control, so it is somewhat regrettable that manpower was allocated with that focus."

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