On the 27th, the Seoul city government revoked the grand prize awarded to Yongsan District at the regional festival safety management best practices competition. This was in response to demands from the victims' families of the Itaewon tragedy to cancel the award.
On the same day, the Seoul city government released a statement, saying, "We regret that Yongsan District conducted excessive publicity, such as distributing press releases, in a situation where the pain of the Itaewon tragedy victims has yet to heal."
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said, "It was an incredibly unreasonable act that did not take into account the pain and suffering of the bereaved families."
Earlier, Yongsan District received the grand prize at the '2025 Regional Festival Safety Management Best Practices Competition' held at the Seoul Museum of History on the 22nd. This competition, hosted by the Seoul city government, was established to promote a safe regional festival culture. Yongsan District reportedly presented on 'Safety management for large crowds in preparation for Halloween' during the finals, and its comprehensive safety measures implemented in the Itaewon area during last year's Halloween period received high praise.
As this information became known, the families of the Itaewon tragedy victims and the victims themselves expressed their outrage. The 10·29 Itaewon Tragedy Families Association and the Citizens' Countermeasure Committee released a statement that day demanding, "Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon should publicly apologize for the inappropriate award and cancel the prize given to Yongsan District Office."
They also stated, "The Halloween festival during the (2022 Itaewon tragedy) is a phenomenon and, since there is no organizer, the person who has denied all responsibility for the tragedy is exactly Park Hee-young, the head of Yongsan District Office." They added, "If one wants to argue about the safety management responsibilities of a festival without an organizer, saying 'It was wrong in the past, but it is right now,' at the very least, one should critically reflect on their own responsibility for the Itaewon tragedy."
They also questioned the Seoul city government, asking, "Is it appropriate to praise and award actions taken belatedly after causing hundreds of victims for something that local governments should naturally fulfill?"