"Full Operation for Sunrise Crowds"... Pohang City Accelerates Disaster and Safety Measures

Safety Management Working Committee Convened,
Joint Inspections with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and North Gyeongsang Province
Crowd Density Prevention Measures,
Utilizing the Crowd Management Support System and AI-Based Crowd Analysis CCTV

While everyone waits for the first rays of sunlight to appear over the horizon, their attention is fixed solely on the space between the feet and shoulders of the citizens.

Pohang City has designated the period starting from the 17th as a special safety management period during the year-end and New Year sunrise events to prevent accidents involving citizens and tourists. The city has mobilized all administrative resources to proactively strengthen safety management.

Pohang City, Full Effort on Crowd and Disaster Safety Management for Sunrise Event. Photo by Pohang City

On the 17th, the city held a Safety Management Working Committee meeting in the Disaster and Safety Comprehensive Situation Room at City Hall to prepare for the 28th Homigot Sunrise Festival and other year-end and New Year events taking place throughout the region.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Mayor Jang Sanggil, who served as chair, as well as representatives from Pohang South and North Police Stations, Pohang South and North Fire Stations, Pohang Maritime Police Station, Korea Electrical Safety Corporation, Korea Gas Safety Corporation, Pohang Regional Architectural Association, South and North District Health Centers, the festival organizing department, and other related organizations. They reviewed the safety management plan together.

In particular, due to the revision and enforcement of the “Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety” in March of last year, a new safety management obligation has been established for local festivals without official organizers where large crowds are expected. Accordingly, the city has developed additional safety management plans, focusing on areas where crowd density is anticipated to be high.

The review on this day focused on plans for deploying safety personnel by zone, measures to prevent crowd crush incidents, and response systems in the event of an emergency.

Additionally, on the 28th, the city will conduct a joint inspection with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, North Gyeongsang Province, police, fire departments, and other relevant agencies to eliminate potential hazards around event venues in advance and to ensure that citizens and tourists can participate in the events with peace of mind by thoroughly securing on-site safety.

Taking into account the characteristics of high-risk festivals, the city plans to operate a field-oriented safety management system by utilizing the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s crowd management support system and Pohang’s AI-based crowd analysis CCTV to detect crowd density and risk situations in real time.

Furthermore, the city will maintain close cooperation with related agencies such as the police, fire department, and maritime police to ensure a swift response in the event of any incident.

Deputy Mayor Jang Sanggil stated, “We will further strengthen our field-oriented safety management system to ensure immediate response to any situation during the sunrise and year-end events,” adding, “We will solidify cooperation with relevant agencies such as the police and fire departments to do our utmost to prevent even a single safety accident.”

Pohang City identifies upcoming local festivals and outdoor events each month in advance. Events are classified as high-risk regional festivals if they are expected to attract more than 1,000 spectators at once, are held on mountains or bodies of water, or involve the use of explosive materials such as fire, fireworks, petroleum products, or flammable gases. The city conducts a prior review to assess the adequacy of the safety management plans for these events.

Based on this, the city will continue to carry out joint safety inspections with relevant agencies, devoting its full effort to preventing festival-related accidents and protecting lives.