South Korean police chief says he feels "heavy responsibility" for Halloween crowd crush

Police block off entry to an alleyway following a deadly crowd crush in Seoul, South Korea.
(Image credit: Chris Jung/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Law enforcement officials in South Korea admitted their culpability on Tuesday for failing to properly respond to a festival crowd crush in Seoul that left more than 150 people dead.

Amidst massive growing scrutiny over Saturday's disaster, Yoon Hee Keun, chief of South Korea's National Police Agency, apologized for the inadequate police response during the crowd crush.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The crush, which occurred in Seoul's popular Itaewon District during a Halloween festival, marked South Korea's deadliest disaster since 2014. Following the incident, a law enforcement investigation reportedly discovered that dozens of people had called emergency services as the stampede unfolded. However, Yoon said police officers who answered the calls had failed to properly respond.

Yoon added that an internal probe into the police response had been launched. The probe is reportedly investigating the emergency calls as well as the presence of first responders in the area, AP reported.

Yoon was not the only public official to express remorse for the lackluster response. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon openly wept during a separate press conference, saying, "I'm sorry for the delay in apologizing."

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol admitted during a cabinet meeting that South Korea did not have adequate preparations for crowd management, and called for new systems to be put in place.

Explore More
Justin Klawans, The Week US

Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.