The South Korean police had multiple urgent reports of danger Saturday night before the deadly crush of Itaewon, in Seoul, caused the massacre among teenagers and in their twenties, with a death toll just updated at 156 .
Law enforcement officers knew that "a large crowd had gathered even before the incident occurred , indicating the urgency of the danger," said National Police Chief Yoon Hee-keun, describing the management of police as "insufficient". information received.
For the first post-pandemic Halloween party it is estimated that around 100,000 people had reached Itaewon, Seoul's nightlife district, on Saturday evening , but as this was not an "official" event with a designated organizer, neither police nor local authorities were managing the crowd.
The city of Seoul is equipped with a real-time monitoring system that uses cell phone data to predict crowd size , but it was not activated on Saturday night, according to local media. And Itaewon district authorities did not deploy any security patrols, saying Halloween was considered "a phenomenon" rather than "a festival," which would have instead required an official crowd control plan.
The controversy is thus growing over the inadequate management of police and other government agencies : "As a minister of the competent authorities, I offer my humble apologies to the people for the incident, although the nation has unlimited responsibility for the safety of the people", South Korean Interior and Security Minister Lee Sang-min said.
