Police will deploy riot police units and others at six locations where Christmas crowds are expected to gather.
The Korean National Police Agency said on Dec. 23 that it will deploy 1,410 officers and six broadcast lighting vehicles, focusing on six "priority management areas" designated by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. The priority management areas are places where an instantaneous maximum of more than 20,000 people are expected to gather, including Myeong-dong, Itaewon, Gangnam, Hongdae and Seongsu in Seoul, and Seomyeon in Busan.
Officers will control vehicle traffic in crowd-congested areas on site and secure general passageways. If a crowd incident is reported, they will designate "Code 1," an emergency dispatch order, or higher to disperse the crowd and block additional inflows.
Police plan to continue crowd safety management through year-end bell-ringing ceremonies and year-end and New Year events such as sunset and sunrise gatherings.