South Korean authorities admit to having failed over last weekend’s Halloween party in Seoul, which killed 156 revelers and injured dozens of people. Police Chief Yoon Hee-keun said the response was “insufficient” to the “many emergency calls” that were made before hundreds of people were crushed. This was reported by international news agencies on Tuesday.
South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo spoke at a press conference of a “disastrous event” caused by better crowd control could have been prevented. According to him, the already initiated investigation into the disaster will also examine the role of government services in connection with the disaster. On Monday, the national police said they had underestimated the risks of the large-scale turnout for the Halloween party, deploying just 137 police officers against a crowd of more than 100,000 people.
The oppression took place in a narrow alley in the hip nightlife district of Itaewon. According to eyewitnesses, people were overrun when some boys started pushing. The victims are mainly young people and mostly women. Among the dead are according to The Korea Herald 26 foreigners, from countries including the United States, Iran and China.
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