Itaewon and Hongdaeipgu Halloween Emergency

Yongsan-gu, Mapo-gu Prepare Safety Measures Before and After Halloween Day...Conduct Joint Civil-Government-Police Campaigns

Seoul's Yongsan Itaewon and Mapo Hongdae areas are on high alert for 'Halloween Day.'

With the first anniversary of the October 29 Itaewon tragedy approaching, autonomous districts in Seoul such as Yongsan-gu and Mapo-gu, which attract a young crowd, have entered an emergency system to ensure safety for this Saturday's Halloween Day event.

Yongsan-gu Enters Emergency System Ahead of Itaewon Tragedy 1st Anniversary

Full Safety Efforts from October 27 to November 1 in Itaewon-ro, World Food Street, and Quinon-gil Area

Halloween Day Related Agencies Countermeasure Meeting held on the 13th at the Yongsan-gu Office Medium Conference Room

Having experienced the Itaewon tragedy last year, Yongsan-gu held a 'Joint Countermeasure Meeting with Related Agencies for Halloween Day Preparedness' on the 13th in the district office's main conference room, strengthening vigilance during the period of dense crowds (October 27 to November 1) and committing to comprehensive safety accident prevention.

The key management areas are World Food Street, Itaewon-ro, and Quinon-gil. The meeting was attended by 50 people including Park Hee-young, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, Lim Hyun-gyu, Chief of Yongsan Police Station, Choi Seong-beom, Chief of Yongsan Fire Station, and Choi In-su, Director of Transport Operations at Seoul Metro.

Since the first joint countermeasure meeting hosted by the mayor on the 14th of last month, the district has continued practical consultations with related agencies to establish safety measures for the Halloween period's dense crowds.

Main measures include ▲ joint on-site situation room and disaster safety communication network operation ▲ management of road and sidewalk traffic ▲ inspection and repair of sidewalks, roads, and facilities in Itaewon area ▲ special street maintenance ▲ operation of emergency roads ▲ strengthened parking and stopping enforcement.

The joint on-site situation room will be set up at Noksapyeong Station Plaza. Officials from the district, police, fire department, and the 3537th unit will oversee crowd dispersal and traffic management on roads and sidewalks during peak crowd times.

To facilitate smooth crowd control, police announcement vehicles and fire department ambulances will be pre-positioned on the side roads leading to the World Food Culture Street near Exit 2 of Itaewon Station.

Approximately 470 meters of one lane from opposite Itaewon 119 Safety Center (Itaewon-ro 191) to Itaewon Church (Itaewon-ro 15-gil 1) will be designated as a pedestrian walkway, and about 360 meters of one lane from McDonald's Itaewon branch (Itaewon-ro 142-1) to Itaewon Station (Itaewon-ro 178) will be operated as an emergency vehicle road.

In particular, by the 25th, 130 security CCTV cameras and 25 emergency bells installed from Noksapyeong Station to Hangangjin Station will be inspected for malfunctions and errors, with intensive monitoring conducted from October 27 to November 1.

Before the intensive monitoring period, the district will provide special training for 16 integrated control center staff (4 teams). The training covers monitoring methods, emergency communication protocols with the disaster safety situation room, duty room, and related agencies in case of emergencies such as dense crowds.

Additionally, 60 sanitation workers will be deployed daily in the Itaewon area to prevent garbage accumulation. Inspections of nearby outdoor signs, roads, and traffic facilities will be completed by the 26th to prepare for potential safety incidents.

Yongsan Police Station will take proactive measures to prevent safety accidents and crimes in crowded areas. Traffic police will be stationed at major intersections, and lane controls in Itaewon will be flexibly implemented as needed for smooth crowd management.

Yongsan Fire Station will activate the 'Emergency Rescue Simplified Control Team.' Firefighting forces at Itaewon 119 Safety Center will be on standby, and joint foot patrols with volunteer firefighters will continue.

The Itaewon Tourism Special Zone Association will also contribute. The association's president and 20 directors have formed an emergency standby team to maintain emergency communication between related agencies and merchants. The Safety Management Volunteer Corps, launched last month with about 50 merchants, will strengthen night patrols during Halloween.

At Itaewon Station and Noksapyeong Station, in case of passenger surges or accident risks during the period, non-stop passage will be actively implemented, and safety personnel will be increased at platforms, concourses, and exits to maintain order. Additionally, the 3537th unit's 3rd battalion will provide troop support if necessary.

Park Hee-young, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, "We expect a concentration of mourners and visitors in the Itaewon area for five days starting October 27, and public, private, military, and police sectors have jointly prepared safety measures. We will also strengthen enforcement against safety hazards during this period, so we ask for cooperation with on-site staff guidance."

Since the tragedy, the district has continuously pursued safety accident prevention improvements such as ▲ direct management of the CCTV Integrated Control Center ▲ separate establishment of the Disaster Safety Situation Room and hiring dedicated personnel ▲ expansion and training of the disaster safety communication network ▲ construction of a smart city integrated platform ▲ improvement of pedestrian environments at 23 locations within the Itaewon Tourism Special Zone ▲ and conducting safety management simulation services.

Mapo-gu Aims for ZERO Halloween Crowd Accidents... Special Safety Management and Inspection in Hongdae

District Deploys Total of 2,850 Personnel Including Officials, Police, and Firefighters to Prevent Halloween Crowd Accidents and Traffic Congestion in Hongdae

Mapo-gu (Mayor Park Kang-soo) announced that ahead of Halloween Day on the 31st, it will conduct special safety management for dense crowds in the Hongdae Red Road area from October 27 to November 1 in cooperation with police, fire department, and other agencies.

Based on last year's Halloween boarding and alighting numbers at Hongdae Entrance Station, the district expects 40,000 to 70,000 people to gather in Hongdae this year and urgently formed a 'Halloween Situation Management Special Task Force' centered on the Citizen Safety Division.

In addition, the district established joint safety management measures with related agencies including Mapo Police Station, Mapo Fire Station, Seoul Metro, and the Hongdae Merchants Association. On the 23rd, the 'Safety Mapo Hotline' was convened at the Mapo-gu Disaster Safety Situation Room to hold the 'Halloween Preparedness Mapo-gu Safety Management Committee.'

From the 27th, a joint on-site situation room will be set up at the KT&G Sangsangmadang Plaza in Hongdae for five days, where heads of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Mapo Police Station, and Mapo Fire Station will share real-time CCTV monitoring, disaster safety situation room updates, and on-site patrol status to enable rapid situation assessment and immediate response dissemination.

An emergency medical station staffed with four medical personnel and one ambulance will also operate to respond swiftly to emergencies.

The district plans to actively utilize the AI crowd management system currently installed and operating at six locations including Hongdae Club Street and around Hongdae Entrance Station. The AI analyzes crowd density through CCTV screens and displays warning messages and voice alerts indicating normal, caution, or danger levels, allowing pedestrians to easily recognize the situation.

Furthermore, the Mapo-gu CCTV Control Center and Disaster Safety Situation Room, operating 24/7, will continuously monitor the scene via CCTV and immediately disseminate information for prompt initial response.

For on-site response and guidance requiring human intervention, a total of approximately 2,850 safety management personnel will be deployed over five days, including 600 Mapo-gu officials, 1,750 police officers, 300 firefighters, and 200 private personnel.

On-site inspections will begin at 7 p.m. on the 27th and continue until 3 a.m. on November 1, the end of Halloween. The district will divide the area for focused management: Hongdae Club Street, Hongdae Entrance Station Exits 8 and 9, and Red Road sections R3 to R5 will be jointly inspected by district officials and police with traffic guidance; other Red Road sections R1, R2, and R6 will be jointly inspected by the Mapo-gu Volunteer Crime Prevention Corps, Hongdae Merchants Association, and Tourism Environment Security Officers.

Mapo Police Station (Chief Inspector Lim Seong-soon) plans to install police information booths on Hongdae Hongtong Street and Club Street and set up safety fences in congested pedestrian areas to secure walkways. If the risk level is judged severe, vehicle entry will be prohibited and traffic controlled accordingly.

Mapo Fire Station (Chief Kim Yong-geun) will conduct fire patrols and station 75 fire trucks and ambulances near Hongdae Club Street for five days to prepare for fires. Additionally, 24 'visible fire extinguishers' will be installed throughout the Red Road area for public use.

Hongdae Entrance Station Exit 9, which is usually congested, will be used exclusively as an exit by Seoul Metro to ensure pedestrian safety. The station manager stated, "Exit 8 will be used exclusively as an entrance, and other exits will be flexibly utilized and thoroughly guided to users as needed."

Park Kang-soo, Mayor of Mapo-gu, said, "Hongdae Red Road is a place with a significant flow of people even on regular days, so all Safety Mapo Hotline agencies including police and fire departments need to respond with heightened vigilance. We believe that safety measures to protect citizens' lives are better to be excessive than insufficient, and we will do our best to ensure the safety of residents and tourists visiting Hongdae during Halloween." He added, "We also ask citizens visiting crowded places during Halloween to comply with safety rules to prevent even a single safety accident."

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