Halloween Emergency...Pre-Inspection with Police and Others in Seoul Districts Yongsan and Mapo-gu

Halloween Day emergency has been declared.

Yongsan-gu, which experienced a major disaster during the Halloween Day in Itaewon, and Mapo-gu, home to Hongdae Red Road, one of Seoul's representative crowded areas, have started preparing countermeasures for Halloween Day.

These autonomous districts are collaborating with the police, fire department, and others to conduct preliminary inspections. In particular, according to Article 66 of the revised “Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety” enacted in March this year, if the organizer is unclear for a local festival expected to have mass participation, the head of the local government in charge must establish a safety management plan.

Noksapyeong Square On-site Situation Room

Seoul Yongsan-gu (District Mayor Park Hee-young) has finalized the safety management measures in preparation for Halloween Day 2024. This is the first case of establishing safety management measures for a local festival without an organizer in the region following the legal amendment.

The district held joint countermeasure meetings with related organizations to prepare safety management and traffic control plans during the Halloween Day safety management period, establishing an organic cooperation system among related organizations to prevent safety accidents.

The expected crowd concentration period for Halloween Day 2024 is from October 25 to November 3, and the district will devote full efforts to safety management for 10 days. The key management zones are designated as Itaewon World Food Culture Street and Quinon-gil area, with safety management also conducted in Haebangchon and Gyeongridan-gil.

Main measures include ▲operation of joint situation rooms with related organizations ▲operation of disaster safety communication networks among related organizations ▲strengthening monitoring at disaster safety situation rooms and integrated control centers ▲deployment of safety management support personnel by related organizations ▲crowd congestion management and traffic control ▲pre-inspection and crackdown on safety hazards ▲and safety-related publicity.

The joint on-site situation room of related organizations will be installed at Noksapyeong Station Plaza. It will be linked with the Yongsan-gu Disaster Safety Situation Room and the integrated control center for security CCTV operating an intelligent crowd management system to thoroughly conduct real-time focused monitoring and situation management of expected mass crowd areas.

To ensure smooth crowd management, a total of 4,156 safety management personnel will be deployed at key points such as Itaewon World Food Culture Street and Quinon-gil, including 720 from Yongsan-gu, 2,964 police officers, 168 firefighters, and 304 from the Transportation Corporation.

Based on the number of passengers alighting at Itaewon Station, crowd congestion will be managed in three stages: ▲Stage 1 caution (around 3,000 people) ▲Stage 2 alert (around 5,000 people) ▲Stage 3 severe (around 8,000 people), with reinforcement of personnel and equipment operation according to the congestion level.

In the key management areas of World Food Culture Street and Quinon-gil, safety personnel will be deployed to guide safe passage according to the on-site situation. During Stage 1 caution, free passage is allowed; during Stage 2 alert, crowd inflow to World Food Culture Street will be controlled and entrances and exits will be separated; during Stage 3 severe, crowd inflow will be blocked, and reserve forces besides safety personnel will be deployed to guide movement to the main roads.

Traffic management will also be implemented according to the crowd management stages. During Stage 1 caution, parking and stopping will be managed, focusing on pedestrian flow at intersections. From Stage 2 alert, lanes will be controlled to secure pedestrian walkways and exclusive lanes for emergency and emergency vehicles will be secured. Additionally, joint situation assessment meetings with related organizations will be held as needed to respond promptly.

The district will conduct pre-inspections (October 14 to October 24) and strengthen crackdowns on safety hazards to minimize inconvenience to residents and visitors. In particular, illegal street vendors, roadside storage, and outdoor advertisements around Itaewon World Food Culture Street will be intensively cracked down on, and illegal parking and outdoor business activities will be strictly managed.

Park Hee-young, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, “We will do our best to ensure a safe Halloween Day based on the safety management plan prepared together with related organizations,” and added, “If the crowd becomes congested, please actively follow the instructions of safety personnel on site.”

Park Gasu, Mayor of Mapo District, is inspecting Hongdae Red Road ahead of Halloween Day last year.

Mapo-gu (District Mayor Park Kang-soo) will conduct a “Special Safety Management for Large Crowds at Hongdae Red Road” jointly with the police, fire department, and others from October 25 to 31 ahead of Halloween Day.

Based on the hourly crowd density data of the Hongdae Tourism Special Zone during Halloween in 2023, the district expects between 40,000 and 100,000 people to gather in Hongdae this year and formed a “Halloween Crowd Management Task Force” centered on the Citizen Safety Division.

Subsequently, the district discussed the Halloween crowd safety management plan with related organizations such as Mapo Police Station, Mapo Fire Station, and Seoul Transportation Corporation, and reviewed the safety management plan on October 15 to complete preparations.

On October 21, a Safety Culture Movement Promotion Council was held with the participation of heads of related organizations including the police chief, fire chief, and head of the Western Education Support Office, as well as leaders of private organizations to discuss Halloween safety management.

During the special safety management period for large crowds, the district plans to install an on-site situation room at Red Road R4 and conduct step-by-step crowd management and traffic control together with related organizations such as Mapo Police Station and Mapo Fire Station.

In addition, CCTV monitoring status in crowded areas and information from the disaster safety situation room will be shared in real time, and an emergency medical center will also be operated to respond quickly in case of emergencies.

The district actively utilizes the “AI Crowd Density Analysis System” installed in crowded areas to analyze dangerous situations in real time and provide pedestrian-friendly alerts through warning messages and voice guidance.

Emergency disaster text message electronic billboards capable of quickly disseminating emergency disaster texts and crowd behavior guidelines will be installed at five major points on Red Road for easy visibility from a distance.

Furthermore, the Mapo-gu CCTV Integrated Control Center and Disaster Safety Situation Room, operating 24 hours a day, will monitor the site situation in real time through closed-circuit television (CCTV).

For on-site response, the district will deploy a total of 375 safety management personnel for seven days, including 175 district office officials, 150 private personnel, and 50 professional safety managers.

They will conduct on-site inspections and safety campaigns daily from 8 PM to 2 AM the next day for seven days, and patrol until 3 AM the following day on Halloween Day, October 31.

The district plans to concentrate safety management personnel around Exit 9 of Hongdae Entrance Station, club streets, and Red Road sections R2 to R5, and intensively crack down on illegal parking and unauthorized storage that pose risks to passage.

In cooperation with Mapo Police Station, the district has prepared plans to secure pedestrian paths in congested walking areas and control vehicle entry if crowd density becomes severe.

Park Kang-soo, Mayor of Mapo-gu, said, “Mapo-gu prioritizes safety above all else,” and added, “With the belief that there is no such thing as overreaction, we will thoroughly manage safety so that visitors to Red Road during Halloween can enjoy themselves with peace of mind.”