Jung-gu Office, Namdaemun Police Station, and Jungbu Fire Station Form Crowd Accident Prevention Team to Implement Halloween Safety Measures... Deploying 27 Safety Personnel Daily from October 27 to November 1, Totaling 135... Comprehensive Preparations Including CCTV Monitoring, Preemptive Crackdown on Traffic Hazards, and Establishment of Interagency Hotline
Jung-gu, Seoul (Mayor Kim Gil-seong) has taken thorough measures to ensure that tourists visiting Myeongdong can have a safe and enjoyable Halloween.
Jung-gu estimates that the peak number of visitors to Myeongdong around Halloween Day on October 31 will reach approximately 30,000 people at a given moment. This figure was derived through simulations based on the crowd size on Halloween last year and recent visitor trends.
The areas expected to be most crowded are Myeongdong-gil and Myeongdong Jungang-ro (Myeongdong 8-gil). Myeongdong-gil is 455 meters long and 15 meters wide, while Myeongdong Jungang-ro (Myeongdong 8-gil) is 300 meters long and 10 meters wide. These zones have densely packed street vendors, increasing the risk of accidents when crowds gather.
On October 24-25, Jung-gu Office, Namdaemun Police Station, and Jungbu Fire Station held a joint meeting to coordinate their response. Each agency shared their crowd control measures prepared so far, conducted patrol activities together on Myeongdong streets, and inspected potential hazards.
Through the joint meeting, they agreed on ▲forming a safety organization and operating an on-site situation room to prevent crowd-related accidents ▲intensive monitoring of intelligent CCTV across Myeongdong ▲conducting pre-inspections to prevent crowd accidents ▲establishing a joint safety response system among related agencies.
First, a Crowd Accident Prevention Team was organized, with the Jung-gu Deputy Mayor in overall command. Jung-gu is responsible for operating the situation room and CCTV monitoring, Namdaemun Police Station handles order maintenance, and Jungbu Fire Station along with the public health center manages emergency rescue, establishing a system for rapid response.
A personnel deployment plan was also established. From October 27 to November 1, for five days, 27 safety personnel from Jung-gu Office, Namdaemun Police Station, and Jungbu Fire Station will be deployed daily from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. the next day, totaling 135 safety workers.
The safety personnel will be stationed at Myeongdong Station Exit 6, Noon Square, Myeongdong Arts Theater, and other locations, wearing fluorescent vests and using light batons and handheld microphones to guide citizens safely through the streets. They will also monitor crowd density, control the scene if dangerous situations arise, and immediately notify the on-site situation room. The situation room will be set up at the Myeongdong Community Center, where safety personnel and officials will share information frequently and direct operations on site.
Jung-gu will intensively utilize 37 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed throughout Myeongdong during the Halloween period. The control center will display real-time footage of crowded areas on a large screen to detect risks with a "hawk's eye." According to Seoul City's recommended "Crowd Density Emergency Response Standards," if the number of people shown on CCTV reaches 3 per square meter, monitoring continues; if 4 or more appear, crowd dispersal will be encouraged to prevent the situation from escalating to a critical stage (5 or more per square meter), with immediate action planned.
Additionally, the district completed inspections by October 27 to ensure no safety hazards threaten tourists walking through Myeongdong. Illegal piled-up items and advertisements placed by street vendors or shops were removed, damaged road sections were checked and repaired, illegal parking was cracked down on, and the proper functioning of CCTV and emergency bells was confirmed.
Above all, recognizing the importance of swift communication and joint response among related agencies, a hotline was established and is being pilot-operated.
Kim Gil-seong, Mayor of Jung-gu, stated, "Safety accidents can be fully prevented through thorough preparation," adding, "We will ensure that tourists visiting Myeongdong can enjoy Halloween safely by having related agencies communicate organically and respond flawlessly."
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