South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol laid flowers at a memorial for the 154 killed in a stampede in Seoul on Monday during the Halloween festivities.
A team of 561 people will investigate the accident, which also caused 33 serious injuries, according to a statement from the Ministry of the Interior and Security.
About 100,000 people, mostly young people in their 20s, dressed for Halloween, had gathered Saturday in Itaewon, an area of bars and nightclubs in a maze of steep, narrow alleys along a main avenue.
Some witnesses described a complete lack of measures to channel or control the crowd.
Police have already acknowledged deploying just 137 officers to Itaewon on Saturday night, although they said the number was higher than for Halloween parties in previous years, in response to criticism online and in the South Korean press.
The stampede “was not a problem that could have been solved by the early mobilization of police or firefighters,” Interior Minister Lee Sang-min said on Sunday.
South Korean police have experience in controlling crowds at demonstrations, but in these cases organizers must declare plans in advance to authorities, which was not the case at the Halloween parties in Itaewon.
South Korea will observe national mourning this week. Many events were canceled and flags flew at half-staff across the country.
Source: TSF
