The Board of Audit and Inspection cited a lack of capacity by Yongsan District in Seoul, the responsible basic local government, as the cause of the deadly crowd crush in the nightlife district of Itaewon on Oct. 29, 2022. It comes three years after the disaster. Police were also faulted for an inadequate response.
In an audit report titled "Inspection of disaster and safety management systems" released on the 23rd, the Board of Audit and Inspection said in connection with the deadly crowd crush in the nightlife district of Itaewon that "basic local governments relied only on prescribed standards such as laws and manuals, leaving them vulnerable to new types of disasters, and they also lacked the experience and expertise needed for swift and appropriate initial response, resulting in an overall lack of capacity."
◇ Yongsan District deployed about 1,000 safety personnel for a festival two weeks before the disaster
According to the Board of Audit and Inspection, on Oct. 25, 2022, four days before the deadly crowd crush in the nightlife district of Itaewon, Yongsan District predicted a surge in visitors to Itaewon during the first Halloween festival since social distancing was lifted amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it only drew up measures for facility safety, noise complaints, and parking management, and did not establish a crowd control plan.
In addition, at 8:31 p.m., just before the crush occurred, a photo of the site packed with people was shared with executives including the deputy district chief. However, Yongsan District did not issue instructions such as ordering the disaster management officer to patrol the scene.
This was because at the time the Disaster and Safety Act did not specify a "crowd crush accident" as a type of disaster, and there was no manual to prevent safety accidents when there was no organizer, as with Halloween Day in Itaewon.
By contrast, for the "Global Village Festival" held at the same location two weeks before the accident, Yongsan District deployed about 1,000 people including safety personnel. That event had an organizer. The Disaster and Safety Act was revised in Dec. 2023 to impose safety management duties on the head of the competent local government even for festivals without organizers.
Duty officers working in the Yongsan District disaster and safety situation room on the day of the disaster were informed of the accident by the fire authorities via the NDMS (National Disaster Management System) and by phone calls but failed to properly grasp the situation. They also failed to make proper internal reports, and Yongsan District Chief Park Hee-young learned of the situation at 10:51 p.m. upon receiving a text message from a local resident.
Shortcomings in Park's response were also pointed out in the Board of Audit and Inspection's findings. On the day of the disaster, around 6:40 p.m. and around 7:57 p.m., Park received photos showing the area behind a hotel near the scene packed with people. Around 9:06 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., a message was posted in a social media group chat saying, "I am worried because a lot of people are gathering; I will keep paying attention." However, no instructions were given to the deputy district chief, the Director General in charge, or the Director to respond to the crowd congestion.
Police also analyzed in advance that there would be a risk of accidents due to crowding on Halloween Day. However, the riot police unit was not pre-deployed on the day of the disaster. As in Yongsan District, the reason given was that the Halloween festival had no organizer and therefore was not subject to the "manual for mass-gathering events."
Also on the day of the disaster, police received a total of 11 reports warning of a possible crush between 6:34 p.m. and 10:01 p.m., but did not share signs of a disaster with related agencies. On-site officers were not assigned crowd control duties, and they focused on preventing people from spilling onto the roadway.
The Yongsan Police Station chief did not order the riot police unit to be dispatched to the scene until 11:17 p.m., one hour after the first crush occurred at 10:15 p.m. The commissioner of the Korean National Police Agency did not recognize the accident until 12:14 a.m. the following day.
◇ Board of Audit and Inspection: "Hire disaster management officers with expertise"
The Board of Audit and Inspection noted that as of last Dec., Korea had about 26,000 public officials in charge of disasters and about 10,000 manuals for responding to various disasters. However, it said the disaster management system was not functioning properly in the field, adding that "the disaster response capacity on the ground, including at basic local governments, is lacking." The problem lies in practical operation rather than in the system.
The Board of Audit and Inspection said basic local governments are handling tasks such as welfare and regional development with limited personnel and budgets, so they are not in a position to focus solely on disaster management. It suggested that hiring disaster management officers with expertise would bring change on the ground.
Meanwhile, the government on the same day announced the results of audits of Seoul City Hall and Yongsan District Office at the "Itaewon disaster joint audit task force (TF)." The government cited the transfer of the presidential office to Yongsan as a cause of the deadly crowd crush in the nightlife district of Itaewon. On the day of the disaster, police concentrated security personnel on managing rallies near the presidential office and did not deploy any in the Itaewon area, it said.
In 2020 and 2021, the Yongsan Police Station drew up an "Itaewon crowd control security plan" in preparation for the Halloween festival, but in 2022, when the presidential office was transferred to Yongsan, it did not. When a working-level officer proposed on Oct. 26 that intelligence officers be deployed in Itaewon in preparation for the Halloween festival, the head of intelligence at Yongsan Police Station dismissed the idea, saying, "Focus on managing rallies."