Chronology (and updates) from 2022 Itaewon Tragedy
SEOUL – On the night of October 29, 2022, a crowd crush occurred during Halloween festivities in Itaewon, Seoul, South Korea. At least 154 people died, and at least 133 others were injured (as of October 31, 2022 @ 12:00 pm KST).
The crowd crush is the deadliest disaster in South Korea since the sinking of MV Sewol in 2014, which killed 306 people; and 2nd in Asia over the past four weeks following the Indonesia's Kanjuruhan tragedy in Malang, East Java, 28 days earlier on October 1, 2022, which killed over 130 people.
- Victims
From 154 killed victims, two of them were Americans. The known deaths consisted of 97 females and 56 males. Four victims were teenagers, 95 people were in their twenties, 32 people in their thirties, nine in their forties and 13 have yet to be identified. Twenty-six foreigners were among the dead.
An additional 4,024 missing person reports were filed the following day. Police said that they would identify the victims and relay information to family members. An investigation would also be opened to determine if bars and clubs followed safety regulations.
By the afternoon of October 30, about 90 percent of victims had been identified. The remaining 10 percent (12 bodies) were of local teens or foreign nationals. Officials said it was initially difficult to identify the deceased because of their Halloween costumes and because many were not carrying identification. The Hannam-dong Community Service Center served as a temporary missing persons center. Officials who usually deal with birth certificates or home registrations assisted in identifying victims. Workers at the center answered phone calls from the public regarding the missing. Since 05:30 on October 30th, the center logged at least 3,580 call hours.
- Current investigation
Authorities did not immediately release what had caused the crush, but the chief of the Yongsan-gu Fire Department, Choi Seong-bum, said it was a presumed stampede and that many individuals fell. An official investigation was opened by the government, and they promised new methods to prevent similar incidents.
- Impact of tragedy
President Yoon Suk-yeol attended an emergency briefing. He suggested swiftly treating the injured and reviewing the safety of festivity sites. He addressed the nation the following morning, and later visited the scene of the incident. A period of national mourning until 5 November was declared by President Yoon, ordering flags at government buildings and public offices to fly at half-mast. The Mayor of Seoul, Oh Se-hoon, who was on a trip to Europe at the time of the incident, returned to Seoul. Many world leaders and ministers (including U.S. President Joe Biden) expressed their condolences.
South Korea's retail and entertainment sector withdrew Halloween-related products from shelves or cancelled events. All festivals at theme parks, including Everland in Yongin and Lotte World in Jamsil, were cancelled. Starbucks outlets stopped Halloween promotions and the sale of themed products. Convenience store chains, including CU and GS25, stopped selling Halloween-themed products online. SM Entertainment announced that its scheduled Halloween events would not take place. Entertainment companies such as SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment announced the cancellation and postponement of various artist comeback schedules and events. Following the declaration of the week-long national mourning period, major broadcasting stations KBS, MBC, SBS, tvN, and JTBC suspended all of their music and entertainment programming beginning on October 30, in favor of continuous news coverage.
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