Seoul Halloween Crush: One Year On, Victim Families Have No Official Apology

On 29 October 2022, a devastating crowd crush unfolded during Halloween celebrations in Seoul’s Itaewon neighbourhood, killing 159. The victims were mostly young.

It was one of the first events in South Korea without COVID-related restrictions, and lured in large crowds ready to embrace freedom once again.

In January, the police conducted a probe, categorising the incident as a “man-made disaster” attributed to a lack of preventive measures, including crowd control and delayed response.

A Year After Seoul Halloween Crowd Crush

Despite the police inquiry, one year on, the victims’ families have no official apology, no independent investigation and no accountability.

Since the disaster, the relatives have accused authorities of trying to shift the blame by scapegoating the victims as drug-affected.

They have raised serious concerns over officials ignoring their pleas and failing to hold an independent inquiry in order to establish responsibility and accountability.

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“Why Are Our Children Treated Like Criminals?”

Days after the fatal crush, which included 26 foreign nationals among victims, police allegedly collected items from the site for drug testing. All results came out negative.

Kim Hee-jung produced a document dated February 2023, which revealed her son’s financial records were accessed. She believes authorities were trying to find evidence of drug-related deals.

In April, she and other families received a letter stating their children would not be indicted for the crime of “unnatural death”. Her heart sank at mention of the word “crime”.

“It’s Shrouded In Mystery”

Lee Jeong-min, the father of Lee Joo-young who died that night, has been campaigning for the passage of a law requiring an independent investigation into the crowd crush.

He also leads the campaign group Bereaved Families of Itaewon Tragedy Association. Lee highlights “our deep-seated suspicions” as one of the key reasons for battling the government.

He points to a drug crackdown conducted in Itaewon in full view of journalists earlier that day and believes it was a media show that diverted crucial resources.