Yongsan-gu Deploys 2,550 Personnel for Safety Management as 160,000 Expected in Itaewon for Halloween

Seoul's Yongsan-gu announced yesterday that it has designated a 10-day special Halloween period from October 23 to November 1, deploying approximately 2,550 on-site safety management personnel from the district office, police, and fire authorities.

The district expects about 165,000 people to visit the Itaewon area, including the World Food Culture Street and Gwangnaru-ro, during the special period, particularly on Halloween day on October 31.

Following three rounds of meetings held since September with relevant agencies such as the Yongsan Police Station, Yongsan Fire Station, Seoul Metro, the 3537th Army Brigade, and the Itaewon Merchants Volunteer Association to establish a safety management plan, the district will operate a joint command post near the World Food Culture Street during the special period.

The district emphasized that the core of its measures is phased responses utilizing real-time crowd data.

It will monitor crowd congestion by integrating intelligent CCTVs, the Yongsan real-time smart map, and the number of passengers disembarking at Itaewon Station. In addition, the district will check the overall crowd status in the Itaewon Special Tourist Zone using Seoul's real-time city data and utilize the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's crowd-gathering alert system.

When a risk alert is triggered, the site will be immediately checked via CCTV to initiate scenario-based responses.

Control functions of the disaster safety command room and the integrated control center will also be reinforced.

In particular, starting October 30, the Halloween weekend, a disaster response command bus will be deployed on-site to share disaster situation information and support response activities.

Yongsan-gu Mayor Kim Kyung-dae said, "We will work closely with relevant agencies to ensure thorough safety management without a single inch of negligence until the very last day," adding, "We ask visitors to actively cooperate with on-site guidance and control to create a safe Halloween together."

(Photo provided by Yongsan-gu, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.