Police said they will prepare comprehensive safety measures, including managing large crowds and cracking down on illegal acts, ahead of a BTS concert. The plan is to mobilize all resources, assuming that up to 260,000 people could gather around Gwanghwamun on the day of the concert.
Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner Park Jeong-bo said at a regular press briefing on the 9th that, regarding the BTS concert, the agency has formed a task force (TF) led by the public safety deputy commissioner as Head of Team and that all divisions are preparing response systems to ensure the concert proceeds safely.
Police will first focus on managing large crowds. They expect crowds to gather from across the Gwanghwamun Woldae to Daehanmun on the day of the event, and explained that if all lanes up to Daehanmun are filled, about 230,000 people could gather, and if it spreads to Sungnyemun, the number could reach up to 260,000.
To that end, police will divide the venue into four zones and then subdivide them into 15 detailed sections for management. A superintendent-level officer will be designated as the responsible lead for each zone to closely manage crowd flow and safety conditions. The specific scale of personnel deployment will be decided after monitoring conditions for about a month until the event.
Police also said they will prepare for illegal acts that may occur during ticket sales and before and after the event. They believe there is a possibility of fraudulent ticket purchases using macro programs, business obstruction causing server disruptions, scams disguised as ticket or nearby lodging sales, and posts online involving threats or harm.
Accordingly, police will assign a dedicated team within the cyber investigation unit to strengthen pre-event monitoring, and if illegal acts are identified, they will immediately launch investigations and pursue penalties.
They will also conduct parallel responses to potential on-site crimes and terrorism. To prepare for serious incidents such as assaults or rampages with weapons, police will deploy 13 violent crime teams from nine precincts to the scene, enabling immediate response if situations arise. The police special operations unit will also be deployed to carry out both preventive and suppression activities.
Police said, "Through an all-out response, we will ensure the concert and related events proceed safely and that citizens can watch with peace of mind," adding, "We will refine our response plans with sufficient preparation time until the event."
Meanwhile, police explained that, regarding the large-scale deployment of personnel, the organizer also has its own safety management responsibility. Police demanded that the organizer secure about 3,500 safety personnel to manage spectator safety on its own and plan to request additional deployment depending on on-site crowd density. However, given that many citizens beyond ticket holders are expected to gather, they said that public-level safety preparations are unavoidable.