Interior Minister Inspects Halloween Sites... "Immediate Control if Overcrowding Occurs"

Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Hojung visited Hongdae Special Tourist Zone in Seoul on October 30, one day before Halloween, to inspect crowd safety management measures.

Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Ho-jung visited Seoul’s Hongdae Special Tourist Zone on the 30th to inspect safety measures for Halloween crowds. Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety is running a 10-day “Special Halloween Crowd Management Period” from October 23 through November 1, in preparation for large crowds gathering in busy downtown areas during the Halloween period, which coincides with the weekend.

The government designated 28 areas across the country, including Itaewon and Hongdae in Seoul, Seomyeon in Busan, and Cheomdan District in Gwangju, as priority management zones. It began intensive management, including advance inspections and the deployment of on-site situation management officers.

Minister Yoon visited the on-site situation room set up at Hongik Culture Park and received briefings on safety measures from Mapo-gu and relevant agencies, including the police and fire authorities.

Mapo-gu will operate a joint situation room through November 1 and deploy around 300 personnel, including safety officers. In priority management areas such as Club Street, portable safety fences will be installed to secure pedestrian routes in both directions, and pedestrians will be guided to keep to the right and walk in one direction. The police and fire authorities will manage vehicle access, secure routes for ambulances, and implement patient transport plans.

Minister Yoon then toured Hongdae Club Street and the area around the Street You Want to Walk (Red Road), checking for obstacles in blind spots and bottlenecks on slopes, in alleys, and at entrances and exits.

On site, he checked the status of warning messages and public announcements from an artificial intelligence (AI) crowd-density analysis system. He also tested an emergency bell for urgent reports and confirmed its connection to the control center. After viewing disaster information boards broadcasting public safety guidelines in four languages—Korean, English, Chinese, and Japanese—he encouraged staff at the fire service's on-site command post.

With 11.56 million foreign tourists visiting Seoul from January through August this year, up 21.6% from the same period last year, and events scheduled in the heart of Hongdae's commercial district, he called for immediate crowd control if overcrowding occurs. He also urged officials to prepare to ensure there are no communication problems if foreign visitors report an emergency using the emergency bell.

Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Hojung said, “We will work closely with relevant agencies to ensure that the public can enjoy Halloween safely. I also ask everyone to follow the instructions of on-site safety officers, maintain order, and familiarize themselves with public safety guidelines for crowd-related accidents.”

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