15,000 Gather at Gwanghwamun for Brazil Match... Police Deploy 465 Officers

On the 3rd, at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, the Red Devils and citizens cheered after the Taeguk Warriors secured their advancement to the round of 16 in the third group stage match of Group H between South Korea and Portugal in the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] On the 6th, the police will deploy 465 officers to manage safety at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, where street cheering for the Korea national team and Brazil's Round of 16 match in the Qatar World Cup will take place.

On the 5th, the National Police Agency announced that about 15,000 people are expected to gather at Gwanghwamun Square to cheer for the national team’s match starting at 4 a.m. the next day. They will deploy 65 regular police officers, about 380 officers from six riot police units, and 20 special forces. The police also expect about 1,000 people to gather at Incheon Dowon Football Stadium and Suwon Convention Center each, and will assign 45 officers to strengthen safety management there.

In addition, the police plan to focus on maintaining order around the street cheering venues and anti-terrorism safety activities while cooperating with local governments and event organizers. Since the match ends close to the morning rush hour, officers will be stationed at subway stations such as Gwanghwamun Station and Gyeongbokgung Station to ensure order and prepare for congestion.

A police official said, "As with the previous group stage matches, we expect the citizens attending the street cheering to demonstrate mature awareness of order."