Halloween weekend sees 65 police calls

A total of 65 calls were made to the police regarding large crowds in South Korea from Friday to Monday, officials said.

From 6 p.m. on Friday to 5 a.m. on Monday, a total of 65 calls were made to the police, with 24 being made from Seoul and 41 from other provinces, the National Police Agency said Monday.

The highest number of calls came Saturday. From 5 a.m. on Saturday to 5 a.m. on Sunday, a total of 45 calls were made to the police, with 16 from Seoul and 29 from elsewhere.

A total of 23 calls were made regarding risk prevention. This was followed by 20 calls related to traffic inconvenience, eight related to noise, three related to drinkers and three seeking advice. There was also one false report call made.

On Oct. 29, 2022, when a crowd crush killed 159 people, more than 120 calls were made to the police between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. alone.

“During this Halloween weekend, we actively supported safe management of sites predicted to have large crowds by deploying enough officers and equipment such as barricades,” said National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun. “As a result, we received reports that the site was well managed with fewer police report calls or unusual incidents that occurred.”

Yoon also visited the site where the tragedy occurred in Itaewon on Sunday to inspect the safety management situation and to express his condolences. “I extend my deepest sympathies to the victims and bereaved families of the tragedy and we will work to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”