More than 150 mostly young people lost their lives in the accident.
(Photo: dpa)
Tokyo It was supposed to be South Korea’s biggest Halloween party in three years. But after more than 150 people were trampled to death in the capital Seoul on Saturday evening, the country is in mourning. The public broadcaster KBS gave the number of deaths on Sunday evening (local time) as 153, citing the fire department.
President Yoon Suk Yeol immediately called for a week’s national mourning on Sunday and had an altar built for the victims. That’s how deep the shock of Itaewon, the district where the tragedy took place, is.
As before the pandemic, the costumed crowds crowded into the megacity’s brightly colored party district on Saturday, which is criss-crossed by small alleys. Because the relaxation of the Corona guidelines finally allowed a big party again. A small, sloping side street then became a death trap.
Witnesses and survivors report that a huge crowd of people poured into the back alley. Apparently panic ensued. In the crowd, several people fell to the ground while the crowd pushed from behind. People were crushed, kicked or injured. The images from Itaewon then went around the world.
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Attendees tried to administer first aid and revive victims before paramedics and firefighters finally worked their way through the crowds to the scene of the accident. Bodies, covered with tarps, lay by the side of the road before being taken to a nearby gym for identification. According to the fire department, 22 foreigners were among the fatalities, and the Interior Ministry gave the number as 20.
Crowds at Halloween celebration in Seoul – at least 150 dead
Messages of condolence arrived in Korea on Sunday from many countries, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Head of state Yoon said, “It’s really terrible. The tragedy and catastrophe should never have happened.” Yoon said his heart was heavy and he was struggling to cope with the grief. Then he announced an investigation. “The most important thing is to clarify the cause of the accident and to prevent similar accidents.”
The government announced that it would designate the area as a special disaster area. This allows victims’ families to receive compensation and reimbursement of funeral expenses. The medical costs of the injured are also covered.
Yoon’s words are also politically important. When the Sewol ferry sank in 2014 and claimed 304 victims, most of them high school students, then conservative President Park Geun Hye was promptly criticized for her slow crisis management. The tragedy was even part of a no-confidence vote against Park, who was subsequently deposed and sentenced to prison for bribery.
The current president, also a conservative, is already very unpopular five months after taking office. The Itaewon misfortune could therefore hurt him all the more if he is accused of slow action or if his government is shown to be negligent.
The opposition Democrats, who hold the majority in parliament, are already looking for arguments against Yoon, the country’s former chief prosecutor. Because his former colleagues arrested some of the opposition leader Lee Jae-Myung’s confidants as part of investigations into corruption in real estate deals.
It is interesting that Lee was Yoon’s opponent in the presidential election. Democrats then boycotted parliamentary sessions, while party supporters revived candlelight demonstrations that had morphed into a popular movement against then-President Park in 2016.
The search for culprits has begun
It’s not that far at the moment and it may not get that far either. Unlike Park, Yoon held crisis meetings that night and visited the scene of the accident to find out personally. Now the search for those responsible for the tragedy begins in Itaewon, which is one of the party magnets with its nightclubs for all gender orientations.
Halloween traditionally attracts more than 100,000 visitors to the region. “But this time it was just crazy,” wrote one visitor on Instagram. The focus of the public could first come to the preparation of the police, who quickly could no longer control the situation.
Yoon’s Interior Minister Lee Sang Min said on Sunday that a “significant number of police and security personnel” had been deployed to a demonstration in Seoul’s governorate. John Lee, a commentator for the online medium South Korea Pro, asked whether the move of the presidential headquarters to the city center might have contributed to the focus and why more precautions weren’t taken in Itaewon.
The behavior of some Halloween participants has also come under criticism. So many visitors continued to celebrate after the accident. Park Juwon, a journalist with the Associate Press news agency, then commented on Twitter: “I’m losing faith in humanity.” South Korea is now likely to face heated political discussions alongside grief.
More: Crowds at Halloween celebrations in Seoul