S. Korea Police Admit Responsibility for Halloween Crush

On Tuesday, South Korea's police chief admitted a "heavy responsibility" for failing to prevent the recent wave of crowds that killed more than 150 people during Halloween celebrations in Seoul.

He added that officers had not effectively dealt with previous emergency calls about the impending disaster.

The admission came as the South Korean government faces increasing public scrutiny over whether the Saturday night crowd surge in Seoul's Itaewon district, a popular nightlife district, can be prevented, and who should be held responsible for the country's worst disaster in years.

“I feel a heavy responsibility (for the disaster) as the head of one of related government offices,” Yoon Hee Keun, commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency, told a televised news conference. “Police will do their best to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again.”

Yoon stated that an initial investigation found that there were many urgent calls by citizens to notify authorities of the potential danger of a crowd gathering in Itaewon, but the officers who received those calls did not respond to them in a satisfactory manner.

According to the police chief, the police later launched an extensive internal investigation to look deeper into the officers' handling of emergency calls and other issues such as their immediate response to growing crowds in Itaewon that night.

The disaster, which left at least 156 dead and 151 wounded, was centered on a narrow, steep alley in Itaewon.

Witnesses described people falling on each other, experiencing severe breathing difficulties, and losing consciousness. They also mentioned that rescuers and ambulances failed to reach the crowded alleys in time because the entire Itaewon area was filled with slow-moving vehicles and a crowd of party-goers in Halloween costumes.

During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, President Yoon Seok-yeol also acknowledged that South Korea lacks research on crowd management. 

He called for the use of drones and other high-tech resources to develop an effective crowd-control capability. He noted that the government would soon hold a meeting with experts to review comprehensive national safety rules.