Area Divided into 15 Sections with Senior Superintendent-Level Chiefs Assigned
The police have announced that they will make thorough preparations for crowd control ahead of BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan)’s comeback concert scheduled for next month.
Park Jungbo, Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, said at a press briefing held at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 9th, "We are preparing to ensure that the concert proceeds safely by managing the crowd and eradicating illegal activities related to the event." The BTS comeback concert will be held at 8:00 p.m. on the 21st of next month in and around Gwanghwamun Square.
The police plan to broadly divide the area into four zones: a core zone, hot zone, warm zone, and cold zone, and then further subdivide each of these into a total of 15 sections. They also announced that they will assign a section chief with the rank of Senior Superintendent to each of the 15 sections. Commissioner Park said, "If all lanes from across Gwanghwamun Wolde to Daehanmun are completely filled with people, we estimate about 230,000 attendees," adding, "If people additionally gather as far as Sungnyemun, up to 260,000 people could be concentrated there."
Commissioner Park said, "To prepare for various crimes that could cause confusion, we will designate a dedicated team within the cyber investigation unit to conduct prior monitoring," and added, "If crimes occur, we will ensure immediate punishment." The police also plan to respond strictly to crimes such as obtaining tickets through illicit means during the ticketing process, causing server failures by compromising networks, and fraud schemes in which offenders pretend to sell purchased tickets or nearby accommodation vouchers.
To prepare for possible disturbances or assault incidents on site, the police will deploy 13 violent crime investigation teams from 9 police stations and will also station the police SWAT unit at the front line. Park added, "The organizer also plans to deploy about 3,500 safety personnel, and the police will prepare for the fact that many additional citizens are likely to gather in the surrounding area."
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