[On the Scene] “Fearing a Halloween crowd surge” ... Special Operations Unit officers and detection dogs patrol Itaewon alleys

[Financial News] At around 5 p.m. on the 30th, in front of Itaewon Station in Yongsan District, Seoul, officers from the Special Operations Unit, dressed in black tactical uniforms, entered an alley beside the Hamilton Hotel with two explosive-detection dogs. They passed through the alley where the 2022 Seoul Halloween crowd crush occurred and surveyed the World Food Culture Street area. The dogs also patrolled the alley, going as far as the fronts of shops.
As crowds gradually began gathering in the Itaewon area a day before Halloween, police appeared to be stepping up their state of alert. An armored vehicle from the Special Operations Unit was stationed near Exit 1 of Itaewon Station as part of visible patrols to prevent crime.
An Dae-seon, head of the security division at Seoul Yongsan Police Station, whom we met at the scene that day, said, “On Halloween, we plan to deploy 370 police officers to manage crowds jointly with the district office, fire services and others.” He added, “If the situation becomes extremely congested, we will block access from both ends of World Food Culture Street and try to reduce crowd density.”
The areas police are focusing on managing are World Food Culture Street and the six sloping alleys that lead to it. If congestion worsens, they plan to adjust the direction of pedestrian traffic in the alleys and encourage one-way movement.
The period when the largest crowds are expected is from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m. the following day. An said, “When crowds were at their largest last year, about 30,000 people gathered around Itaewon Station.” He added, “Since Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, we expect even larger crowds and are preparing accordingly.” Last year, an estimated 8,900 to 9,000 people gathered at one time on World Food Culture Street.
Security to prevent violent crime has also been stepped up. Police deployed seven detective teams, 20 members of the Metropolitan Preventive Patrol Unit, and 10 Special Operations Unit officers, among others. An said, “The Special Operations Unit is patrolling to prevent terrorism and is prepared to deploy immediately if a report is received or a dangerous situation arises.”
Police also urged caution regarding Halloween costumes involving police uniforms or weapons. An stressed, “Even if someone is carrying a replica gun or a knife for cosplay, careless handling in a crowded place could be punishable under relevant laws.” Police plan to prioritize guidance for people wearing police uniforms or similar clothing, but to enforce the relevant laws in cases where harm occurs, among others.


After completing the field patrol, we visited the joint on-site situation room for relevant agencies on the third floor of the Yongsan Education Welfare Center, where real-time CCTV footage showed the flow of crowds around Itaewon. Each area outlined in yellow displayed a headcount, which updated automatically as people entered.
Yongsan District is monitoring crowd density with six intelligent CCTV cameras installed along an approximately 300-meter stretch of World Food Culture Street. On the 23rd, it installed three additional cameras on the roof of the Hamilton Hotel to monitor crowd flows across the entire street.
Baek In-gwan, safety planning team leader in the Safety and Disaster Management Division at Yongsan-gu Office, added, “We use intelligent CCTV to classify congestion into four levels and manage it. We base our assessments primarily on actual conditions at the scene and use other indicators as supplementary information.”
If crowd density rises, officials are considering operating Itaewon Station’s entrances 1 and 2 for entry and entrances 3 and 4 for exit. In extremely congested conditions, they plan to decide, in consultation with the relevant agencies, whether to control access to Itaewon Station and have subway trains pass through without stopping.
This year, officials decided to open traffic lanes to pedestrians before crowds gather. Yongsan District plans to completely restrict vehicle traffic from the 119 Safety Center to Noksapyeong Plaza starting at 6 p.m. on the 31st. The time the restrictions are lifted will depend on conditions at the scene. Baek explained, “Since we expect larger crowds than last year, the aim is to secure pedestrian space in advance and ease crowd density.”
Police, fire services and Yongsan-gu Office held four joint meetings to discuss response plans. During the Halloween period, each agency will station a liaison officer in the on-site situation room and coordinate a joint response according to crowd density.


[email protected] Kim Ye-ji Reporter