Thorough Safety Inspections Ordered for Various Festivals and Events... Operation of Memorial and Mourning Periods
On the 30th, ahead of Halloween, large-scale crushing disaster occurred in the Itaewon area. Near the site of the Itaewon crushing accident in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, flowers and alcohol brought by citizens are placed./Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@
[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] It has been confirmed that citizens of Gwangju were also among the victims of the Seoul Itaewon crowd crush disaster.
Kang Gijeong, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, has ordered thorough safety inspections of various festivals, events, and multi-use facilities, and decided to create a memorial atmosphere by operating a mourning and condolence period at the city level.
According to Gwangju Metropolitan City on the 30th, on the night of the 29th, tens of thousands of people gathered all at once around the Hamilton Hotel area in Itaewon-dong, Seoul, ahead of Halloween, resulting in 153 deaths and about 100 injuries so far.
Among the deceased, three were citizens of Gwangju, and one is reported to be in a brain-dead state.
Mayor Kang convened an emergency countermeasure meeting at City Hall in the afternoon and ordered a situation check and thorough safety measures.
About 20 people, including heads of departments and bureaus, attended the meeting. Before the meeting started, Gwangju held a moment of silence for the victims and immediately discussed situation reports, safety measures, and the operation of the mourning and condolence period.
Mayor Kang said, “With a heavy heart over this unimaginable tragedy, I pray for the repose and peace of the victims who were sadly lost, and offer my deepest condolences to those who suddenly lost their beloved family members.”
He continued, “It is even more heartbreaking to hear that there are victims from our region. We will promptly take measures in cooperation with the government to accurately identify the victims and restore damages.”
He also emphasized, “Immediately re-inspect all events hosted by Gwangju City and autonomous districts and ensure thorough safety. Especially, focus on safety management of multi-use facilities where many people are expected to gather during the year-end and New Year holidays.”
He added, “Review all city ordinances related to citizen safety comprehensively and establish safety measures without any gaps, including elements for ordinance revision.”
Accordingly, Gwangju City will first strengthen safety measures through prior inspections of various ongoing or upcoming events and festivals such as the Daein Art Night Market and Gossaum Nori Festival.
Joint inspections of local festival sites will be promoted together with autonomous districts and related organizations, and for festivals expected to gather large crowds, safety management plans will be recommended even beyond the legal requirement for plans (maximum instantaneous attendance of 1,000 people).
In addition, safety management will be focused on multi-use facilities where many people gather due to various year-end parties and events.
Especially, in areas frequently visited by young people such as Dongmyeong-dong in Dong-gu, Chungjang-ro area, Sangmu district in Seo-gu, and Cheomdan area in Gwangsan-gu, safety management will be intensified through active consultations among the city, autonomous districts, police, fire department, and merchants.
Furthermore, during the national mourning period, condolences will be offered for the victims and wishes for the speedy recovery of the injured.
To this end, the Gwangju city government sports event scheduled for next month will be tentatively postponed, and a memorial atmosphere will be created through early flag lowering, wearing of mourning ribbons, and refraining from drinking gatherings at various meetings.
Along with this, Gwangju City plans to actively cooperate in accident recovery by mobilizing all available means such as medical personnel and volunteer support in cooperation with Seoul City and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
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