More than 150 people were killed in a stampede at a Halloween event in central Seoul, officials said yesterday, with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol vowing a full investigation into one of the country’s worst disasters.
The crowd surge and crush happened at about 10pm in the capital’s popular Itaewon district, where estimates suggest that as many as 100,000 people went to celebrate Halloween on Saturday night, clogging the area’s narrow alleyways and winding streets.
Yoon yesterday declared a period of national mourning, saying in a televised address that “a tragedy and disaster occurred that should not have happened.”
Photo: AFP
He said the government “will thoroughly investigate the cause of the incident and make fundamental improvements to ensure the same accident does not occur again in the future.”
“My heart is heavy and it is difficult to contain my sorrow,” he added, before visiting the scene of the disaster.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said his office would set up a memorial altar at Seoul Plaza so that people could pay their respects to the victims, starting this morning.
Photo: AFP
“Most of the casualties are young people like our sons and daughters, which makes it even more sad,” Oh said at the site of the disaster.
Eyewitnesses described being trapped in a narrow, sloping alleyway and scrambling to get out of the suffocating crowd as people piled on top of one another.
The South Korean Ministry of the Interior and Safety said that 153 people had died, including 20 foreigners, while 133 were injured.
Photo: Reuters
Seoul authorities said they had also received 2,642 reports of missing people.
Officials said they had no clear idea of what caused the crush, while eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos after a vast crowd panicked in a narrow alleyway.
Local shopkeepers said the number of people at the annual celebration was “unprecedentedly large” this year — the first event to be held without restrictions since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Photo: Reuters
As questions began to emerge over the lack of security at the event, South Korean Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min told a news briefing that police had been occupied on the other side of town where a large crowd was expected for a protest.
Police had also not expected such a large crowd at the Halloween event, he added.
Taipei yesterday sent its sympathies to South Korea.
“Our deepest condolences on the loss of life & injuries in the Itaewon incident,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) wrote on Twitter. “Thoughts & prayers to the families of the victims, & heartfelt wishes for a speedy recovery to the wounded. Taiwan grieves with Korea at this difficult time.”
The ministry said it has also expressed condolences to South Korean Representative to Taiwan Chung Byung-won, who expressed his gratitude.
MOFA deputy spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said that no Taiwanese have so far been found to be among the casualties.
In case of emergency, Taiwanese in South Korea are advised to call the +82-10-9080-2761 emergency hotline for its representative office in Seoul, MOFA said.
Additional reporting by CNA
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
NEGOTIATIONS: The US response to the countermeasures and plans Taiwan presented has been positive, including boosting procurement and investment, the president said Taiwan is included in the first group for trade negotiations with the US, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he seeks to shield Taiwanese exporters from a 32 percent tariff. In Washington, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in an interview on Fox News on Thursday that he would speak to his Taiwanese and Israeli counterparts yesterday about tariffs after holding a long discussion with the Vietnamese earlier. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday postponed punishing levies on multiple trade partners, including Taiwan, for three months after trillions of US dollars were wiped off global markets. He has maintained a 10 percent