South Korean authorities concede extensive failures led to Seoul crowd crush deaths

The South Korean Government has admitted institutional failures in managing crowds as being largely responsible for a deadly crowd crush killed more than 150 people during Halloween festivities in Seoul last Saturday.

At least 156 people were crushed to death during Halloween celebrations when crowds surged through a narrow alleyway in a packed nightlife area of Seoul, plunging the nation into mourning.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a state of national mourning and designated Seoul’s popular Itaewon district a disaster zone after the deadliest crowd crush in South Korean history, describing it as “a tragedy … that should not have happened”.

An estimated 100,000 people had gathered in Itaewon, the nightlife quarter of the South Korean capital, on Saturday as the end of social distancing, mask mandates and other anti-Covid rules allowed the first Halloween party in three years.

Revellers reported chaotic scenes due to the sheer volume of people on the streets well before the deadly crush occurred at about 10.20pm, when a large crowd, many wearing Halloween costumes, surged into a steep, narrow alleyway.

Witnesses reported seeing crowds surging in different directions and people losing their footing on the slope, causing a domino effect. Videos posted online showed people trying to pull others out from the crush by their arms.

On Sunday, President Yoon had declared a state of official national mourning during a live address to the nation, stating “as President, who is responsible for the people’s lives and safety, my heart is heavy and I struggle to cope with my grief.”

He went on to pledge that authorities would “thoroughly investigate the cause of the incident and make fundamental improvements to ensure the same accident does not occur again in the future”.

Yoon Hee-keun, Commissioner General of the Korea National Police Agency, also apologised for an “inadequate” emergency response, noting “we’ve judged that the response to the emergency calls was inadequate,” adding that a large number of calls had been placed before the disaster unfolded.

A range of factors are being blamed for the tragedy, including a lack of preventive measures and crowd control owing to the absence of an organising body for Halloween.

An estimated 100,000 people were celebrating in the Itaewon area on Saturday night but only 137 Police officers were on the scene, mostly for traffic and crime prevention.

Image: Emergency respondence in Seoul’s Itaewon district after Saturday evening's deadly crowd incident.