Seoul police assigned 137 officers to manage a crowd of Halloween revellers anticipated to number over 100,000 over the weekend -- a decision that has come under intense criticism following the deaths of more than 150 people when the group surged.
By comparison, nearly 7,000 police officers were sent to another part of the South Korean capital on Saturday to monitor duelling protests that drew tens of thousands but still fewer people than flocked to the popular nightlife district of Itaewon the same night. Even the task force created to investigate why the crowd surged, with 475 members, is more three times larger than the detail assigned to crowd control.
The deaths should be seen as a "manmade disaster," said Lee Changmoo, an urban planning professor at Seoul's Hanyang University. Kong, the disaster prevention professor, said more police and government workers should have been called on to monitor potential bottleneck points. He suggested that the crush may have been prevented if authorities had enforced one-way walking lanes, blocked entry to some narrow pathways, and temporarily closed Itaewon's subway station to prevent an excessive number of people moving in the same direction.
Kong added that the lack of a central organizer on Saturday -- when young people flocked to bars and night clubs to celebrate Halloween but there was not one specific event promoted -- may have contributed to the tragedy.
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