Officials review crowd safety management, traffic control, emergency response and crowd-density analysis systems

A visitor in costume walks along the World Food and Culture Street in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, during last year's Halloween. [Yonhap]
A visitor in costume walks along the World Food and Culture Street in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, during last year's Halloween. [Yonhap]

The government inspected crowd safety management at the Hongdae tourism zone in Seoul on Thursday, a day before Halloween, as large crowds are expected to gather in the area.

The Ministry of Interior and Safety said Minister Yun Ho-jung visited the on-site operations center set up at Hongik Culture Park, where officials from Mapo-gu, police and the fire department briefed Yun on crowd safety measures for Halloween.

Mapo-gu plans to operate a joint operations center through Sunday and deploy about 300 safety personnel. Portable safety fences will be installed in key management zones, including the club district, to maintain two-way pedestrian lanes and guide foot traffic to keep to the right. Police and fire officials reported on vehicle control measures, securing access routes for ambulances and patient transport plans.

Yun then walked through the Hongdae club district and the pedestrian street known as Red Road, checking for hazards and blind spots at ramps, alleyways and entrances, as well as bottlenecks or obstacles that could impede pedestrian flow.

This year's Halloween falls on a weekend, raising expectations of large crowds at major entertainment districts across the country and underscoring the need for thorough safety management to prevent crowd crush incidents.

The ministry designated the 10-day period from Oct. 23 to Sunday as a special crowd management period for Halloween and selected 28 areas nationwide as priority management zones.

Among them, the Hongdae tourism zone — packed with clubs and shops — draws large Halloween crowds every year. The ministry has been managing the area intensively, conducting advance inspections and dispatching on-site safety coordinators.

The government expects even larger crowds this year than last, as the number of foreign tourists visiting Seoul has risen sharply and Halloween events are being organized by clubs and merchant associations in the Hongdae area. Authorities plan to prevent bottlenecks in advance and impose immediate crowd controls if congestion becomes excessive.

"The government will work closely with relevant agencies to ensure the public can enjoy Halloween safely," Yun said. "We also ask the public to follow the guidance of on-site safety personnel, maintain order and familiarize themselves with the public guidelines on how to respond to crowd crush situations."


thlee@heraldcorp.com