The police will deploy approximately 4,900 officers to manage safety in major entertainment districts in Seoul, where large crowds are expected during the Halloween period.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced that it has designated the period from October 24 to November 2 as the "Halloween Special Measures Period," and will deploy a total of 4,922 officers during this time.
The police plan to assign personnel at major locations and increase safety equipment such as safety fences. They will implement phased crowd control and operate one-way pedestrian routes according to the level of congestion.
In particular, in eight "priority management areas" where large crowds are anticipated, joint situation rooms will be established with the participation of the police, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and fire authorities. These teams will share footage from 443 crowd-monitoring CCTVs in real time to coordinate their response.
The designated priority management areas are Ikseon-dong in Jongno-gu, Myeongdong Street in Jung-gu, Itaewon Tourist Special Zone in Yongsan-gu, Seongsu-dong Cafe Street in Seongdong-gu, Kondae Food Street in Gwangjin-gu, Hongdae Tourist Special Zone in Mapo-gu, Gangnam Station and Apgujeong Rodeo Street in Gangnam-gu.
Additionally, during the Halloween period, the police plan to restrict vehicle entry in stages on the following roads: Itaewon-ro in Yongsan-gu (from the entrance of Itaewon to the Cheil Worldwide intersection), Jandari-ro in Mapo-gu (from Samgeori Pocha to Sang Sang Madang), Myeongdong Street in Jung-gu (from the entrance of Samil-daero to in front of the Central Post Office), and Yeonmujang-gil in Seongdong-gu (from the Daerim Warehouse intersection to the Gyeongdong Elementary School intersection).
A police official urged, "We ask citizens visiting downtown entertainment districts during the Halloween period to pay attention to traffic controls and one-way pedestrian routes in these areas, and to actively cooperate with police guidance."
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