Seoul Police Chief Go Beomseok Begins Term with "Fireworks Festival Site Inspection"

Seoul International Fireworks Festival Set for September 5

Crowd Management Inspection and Inter-Agency Cooperation Planned

Yeouinaru Station Trains to Skip Stop from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Event Day

Go Beomseok, Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, made his first official field visit since taking office by inspecting the safety management situation at the venue of the Seoul International Fireworks Festival.

Seoul Metropolitan Police Chief Beomseok Ko visited the area around Yeouido Hangang Park in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, to inspect the event site and key movement routes ahead of the '2026 Seoul International Fireworks Festival' scheduled for the 5th. Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency

On September 3, following his inauguration ceremony, Commissioner Go visited the Yeouido Hangang Park area in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, which is scheduled to host the "2026 Seoul International Fireworks Festival." He checked the event site and main transportation routes. This festival inspection was chosen as his first field schedule in accordance with his principle of prioritizing public safety, which he has consistently emphasized.

During both the pre-event on September 4 and the main event on September 5, the Seoul Police Agency will deploy 51 riot police units, 28 metropolitan crime prevention patrol teams, and a total of 4,500 personnel to manage the crowds and handle 112 emergency calls. The agency will also work in cooperation with the event organizer, the city government, and other relevant institutions.

Since the pre-event takes place on a weekday evening, police officers will be stationed on roads, subway stations, and major entrances and exits around the event area to manage the large crowds expected from both commuters and festival-goers.

For the main event, the chiefs of the Yeongdeungpo, Yongsan, Mapo, and Dongjak Police Stations, along with two riot unit commanders of the senior superintendent rank, will be designated as area supervisors. They plan to manage on-site safety from the event preparation stage until all spectators have returned home. In light of last year's experience, where large crowds gathered at subway stations after the event, this year riot unit commanders will be deployed to both the east and west sides of the southern end of Yeouidong-ro. The flow of people will be managed not only to National Assembly Station and Yeouido Station but also to Saetgang, Daebang, and Singil Stations in an effort to disperse the crowds.

Recently, viewing spots outside the official event area have become popular on social networking services (SNS), such as the northern end of Mapo Bridge in Mapo-gu, the Turtle Ship Ferry Terminal in Ichon, Yongsan-gu, and Yongyang Bongjeojeong Park in Dongjak-gu. Police will also be deployed to these locations, monitoring crowd sizes and, if necessary, managing the number of people allowed to enter for safety reasons.

On the day of the event, Yeouinaru Station on Subway Line 5—which is expected to see the highest number of subway users—will have trains pass through without stopping from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. If crowd congestion occurs before this time period, the no-stop schedule will be advanced in coordination with Seoul Metro. Other subway stations may also implement phased measures such as designated one-way entry and exit, restricted access, and no-stop operations if congestion levels rise.

A police official stated, "Heavy crowds and traffic congestion are expected in the vicinity of the event venue, so we strongly encourage the use of public transportation. For everyone’s safety, please follow the guidance of on-site police officers and safety staff to ensure a safe journey home."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.