Over 4,600 Police Officers Deployed to Busy Districts Ahead of Halloween: "Avoid Guns and Knives for Cosplay"

Measures meeting chaired by Commissioner Go Beomseok held on the 22nd
Vehicle controls to be based on crowd density over the weekend
Police to be deployed for preventive patrols in major crowd hotspots

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency held a countermeasures meeting on Oct. 22, chaired by Chief Go Beomseok, ahead of the special Halloween safety period, and visited the site of the Itaewon disaster to pay tribute to the victims. Together with Yongsan-gu Office and other relevant agencies, it also conducted an on-site inspection and coordinated measures in preparation for Halloween events.

The meeting focused on safety-management support for 14 major entertainment districts designated by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, as well as measures involving traffic controls on major roads, random-motive crimes, sex crimes, and drug-related crimes.

Go Beomseok, chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (second from left), and officials from Yongsan Police Station and Yongsan-gu visited the Itaewon site on the 22nd, a day before the special Halloween safety period began, to pay tribute to the victims. Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency

Police will concentrate their forces in five priority management areas expected to draw large crowds: Itaewon, Hongdae, Seongsu, Myeong-dong, and Ikseon-dong. A total of 4,594 personnel, including riot police units, metropolitan preventive patrol units, special operations units, detectives, and traffic police, will be deployed. They will manage pedestrian flows when crowds gather and conduct visible policing activities to prevent crime. Depending on congestion at the scene, some sections will also be designated for entry or exit only, and incoming crowds will be blocked if necessary.

During the special Halloween safety period, which runs from Oct. 23 through Nov. 1, heightened-readiness emergency duty will be imposed at 11 police stations and other units to maintain readiness for rapid responses to crowding.

For traffic controls, Oct. 30 through Nov. 1 has been designated as the intensive management period. In Itaewon-ro in Yongsan-gu, Jandari-ro in Mapo-gu, Yeonmujang-gil in Seongdong-gu, Myeongdong Street in Jung-gu, and Ikseon-dong in Jongno-gu, vehicles will be restricted in stages according to crowd density, in cooperation with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and district offices.

Vehicle controls will be implemented in three stages. In the first stage, police will work with local governments to manage illegal parking and obstacles in crowded areas. In the second stage, they will partially restrict vehicle access, including limiting the number of vehicles entering crowded areas, and secure emergency routes for emergency vehicles. In the third stage, vehicle access to crowded areas will be completely restricted, and safety management will prioritize pedestrians.

Police will also respond proactively to recent knife attacks. To ease public concern about crowded areas, including multi-use facilities, special operations units, metropolitan preventive patrol units, and detectives will conduct preventive patrols in areas expected to draw large crowds, including Itaewon and Hongdae.

As part of the on-site inspection, a town hall meeting chaired by the head of Yongsan-gu was also held, with 24 participants from relevant organizations, including the Yongsan District Council, Yongsan Fire Station, the Autonomous Crime Prevention Corps Federation, and the Tourism Special Zone Association.

Topics discussed included designating and operating one-way traffic in crowd bottleneck areas; real-time monitoring and regulating crowd inflows using crowd-detection CCTV; real-time information sharing among relevant agencies and use of a crowd-management information system; and checking CCTV blind spots and establishing initial-response procedures in preparation for knife attacks. The proposals will be incorporated into the safety management plan to enable effective cooperation among relevant agencies.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said, "We will make every effort to ensure on-site safety, focusing on crowded areas, so that people can feel at ease." It added, "We ask people to refrain from carrying or wearing props such as guns, knives, or police uniforms for Halloween costumes, and to cooperate fully with instructions and controls from officers at the scene."

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