[Itaewon Tragedy] Rare Stampede Accident in Korea, '233 Casualties' Expected to Mark Itaewon as Worst Incident

Injured victims from the Halloween incident in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, which occurred on the 29th, are being transported to hospitals. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The crush accident that occurred on the 29th in the Itaewon area of Yongsan-gu, Seoul is expected to be recorded as the largest crush disaster in 17 years since the Sangju Citizens' Stadium accident in 2005.

The fire authorities reported that as of the morning of the 30th, the Itaewon accident that happened on the night of the 29th resulted in 151 deaths and 82 injuries, totaling 233 casualties. Among the injured, many were transported to hospitals in cardiac arrest, so the death toll may increase.

Crush accidents mostly occur at festivals, concerts, or events where large crowds gather, but such accidents are rare in Korea. The Sangju disaster occurred on Monday, October 3, 2005, at the Sangju Citizens' Stadium in Gyeongsangbuk-do Sangju-si Gyesan-dong, when about 5,000 spectators rushed simultaneously through one of the stadium's gates, Jik 3 Gate, to watch the MBC Gayo Concert, causing the accident. Eleven people died and 161 were injured in this accident.

According to police investigations, the event organizer won the bid at an abnormally low price and proceeded with the event, which caused issues with payments to the security service company, resulting in insufficient control personnel. Allegations of corruption between the event organizer and Sangju City also surfaced. According to the 2006 Supreme Court ruling, the then mayor of Sangju was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison with 2 years probation, the event organizer’s representative received 8 months imprisonment with 3 years probation, and the MBC PD was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment with 2 years probation.

The largest disaster before the Sangju accident was the 1960 Seoul Station crush accident. On January 26, 1960, just before Lunar New Year, passengers trying to board the Mokpo-bound local train at Seoul Station fell en masse on the stairs, resulting in 31 deaths by crushing and over 40 injuries. The accident occurred because train tickets were issued exceeding the capacity of about 80 passengers per carriage, and additional carriages were hastily added, causing a sudden crowd of passengers.

Additionally, on October 29, 2005, thousands of students rushing toward the entrance to see a famous singer at the Gwangju Design Biennale performance held at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center in Gwangju Metropolitan City caused injuries to about 10 spectators. On March 26, 2006, during a free admission event at Lotte World in Songpa-gu, Seoul, a crowd surge injured 35 people.