Yoon visits mourning altar for Halloween crush victims

President Yoon Suk-yeol and first lady Kim Keon-hee on Monday visited a mourning altar for the victims of last weekend's deadly crowd crush in Seoul. At least 154 people were killed in the crowd surge during Halloween celebrations in the popular nightlife district of Itaewon on Saturday night, with dozens more injured. Yoon and Kim visited the altar set up at Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall, laid flowers and bowed their heads in silent prayer. The president has no other events on his publ

Oct. 31, 2022

Seoul mayor to discuss designating entire capital as special disaster zone following stampede tragedy

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said Sunday he will discuss with the central government on designating the entire capital area as a special disaster zone eligible for various support schemes following a deadly crush in Seoul's Itaewon district that killed over 150 people. Oh announced the plan during a visit to the site of the accident in central Seoul, where he arrived after cutting short his European trip in the wake of the tragic accident that occurred during late-night Halloween celebrations a day ea

Oct. 30, 2022

[Newsmaker] Citizens volunteer to perform CPR during Itaewon accident

  In the aftermath of Saturday night’s crowd surge in Itaewon, citizens joined efforts to save the victims by performing cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and offering other assistance. Video clips that capture the chaotic scenes shortly after the incident happened show a number of volunteers performing CPR in the street, alongside paramedics and emergency rescuers. The videos show people calling out for help for medical experts or anyone who knew how to perform CPR. Lee Beom-suk, one of

Oct. 30, 2022

Itaewon, a party district with international vibe, was magnet for Halloween revelers

Itaewon, a popular nightlife district in Seoul known for its cultural diversity and international flair, has always been considered the place to go for Halloween festivities. On Halloween weekends, young people in their late teens and 20s wearing costumes of zombies, ghosts or famous characters would fill the streets, using the holiday with traditional Irish roots to express themselves in a way that is not usually considered socially acceptable here. On Saturday, when a fatal crowd surge late in

Oct. 30, 2022

S. Korea announces week of national mourning

South Korea has officially entered a weeklong national mourning period for the victims of Saturday night’s human stampede in Itaewon, which was recorded as one of the worst peacetime disasters in the country with over 150 casualties. “Following the president’s directive, the government has decided to observe a national mourning period until midnight of Nov. 5, during which the nation will mourn the perished,” Prime Minister Han Duck-soo told a media briefing. A joint alta

Oct. 30, 2022

Halloween turns deadly in Itaewon

Halloween festivities in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood became a deadly disaster late Saturday, as crowds surged into a narrow, sloping alley, killing and injuring hundreds. At least 154 people have died -- of whom 26 were foreign nationals -- and 132 were injured as of Sunday evening, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and Seoul fire and disaster headquarters.   Included in the foreign nationals who died were people from 14 countries including Iran, Uzbekistan, Chin

Oct. 30, 2022

Could Itaewon tragedy have been prevented?

With the nation in shock with the overnight tragedy from the crowd surge at Halloween festivities in Itaewon, questions surfaced about the lack of safety control and crowd management over the event. The tragedy happened as a large number of people were packed at a narrow alley that connects Exit 1 of Itaewon Station with the World Food Street -- a street filled with clubs and bars -- behind the Hamilton Hotel. Witnesses observed people pushing each other as they tried to go up or down the crowd

Oct. 30, 2022

Shops in Itaewon stay closed as area mourns victims

Restaurants and cafes near the site where over 150 people died in a fatal stampede in Seoul’s Itaewon on Saturday night will close for a three-day mourning period for the victims, a police officer said Sunday. “Some stores have already stopped operations. Whether the temporary closure will extend depends on how the situation unfolds,” a police officer who wished to remain anonymous told The Korea Herald. The closures are voluntary and some businesses have opened as usual. On Sa

Oct. 30, 2022

[From the scene] Parents wait in agony after crush kills Halloween revelers

In the aftermath of Halloween festivities that turned into a deadly crush late Saturday, parents passed a sleepless night outside hospitals, wondering where their children were. Late Saturday in Seoul’s nightlife district of Itaewon, at least 153 people -- most of them in their 20s -- died as a large crowd surged into a narrow alley. Outside Soonchunhyang University Hospital, less than a kilometer away, parents waited for news of their children as the chilly October night wore on. For

Oct. 30, 2022

World leaders offer condolences following Itaewon Halloween crisis

In the hours following the news of a massive  crowd crush amid Halloween celebrations in Itaewon, central Seoul, overnight, world leaders expressed their condolences to South Korea and its people. The US government said it stands with Korea as it mourns the tragedy. "Jill and I send our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones in Seoul. We grieve with the people of the Republic of Korea and send our best wishes for a quick recovery to all those who were injured,&qu

Oct. 30, 2022

[From the scene] Somber atmosphere in Itaewon in aftermath of crowd surge disaster

The area around Itaewon in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, full of excited Halloween partygoers on Saturday night, turned into a catastrophic scene in an instant. At least 153 people died and dozens were injured in a crowd crush that took place in a narrow alley near the neighborhood’s famous Hamilton Hotel. The celebratory scene quickly turned into a nightmare as screams and cries for help erupted from the crowd, and the sounds of ambulance sirens mixed with thumping music that continued to fl

Oct. 30, 2022

Rescue workers set up emergency medical center following Itaewon Halloween incident

Fire authorities in Seoul deployed dozens of rescue workers and have set up a temporary emergency medical center on Hangang-ro, the main road near Itaewon Station in central Seoul, to treat those injured following a large crowd crush incident late Saturday evening. At least 21 people experiencing cardiac arrest were reportedly transported to emergency rooms, while more than 100 were said to be injured from the incident, according to reports and authorities. Fire authorities mobilized 142 ambulan

Oct. 30, 2022

Yoon holds emergency meeting following Itaewon Halloween accident

President Yoon Suk-yeol held an emergency meeting and instructed officials to quickly dispatch the disaster medical assistance team, the presidential office said at around 1 a.m. on Sunday as dozens of people are reported to be in cardiac arrest in Itaewon, central Seoul, where large crowds were celebrating the first outdoor no-mask Halloween since the pandemic. "The top priority right now is saving and evacuating patients, and providing prompt transportation and treatment to victims (hea

Oct. 30, 2022

153 dead, 103 injured amid Itaewon Halloween crowd surge: officials

At least 153 people died and more than 103 were injured in a crowd crush in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, according to fire authorities at 5 p.m. on Sunday. The fire department began to receive reports of patients having difficulty breathing at 10:22 p.m. on Saturday. Of the people who died, more than 100 were transferred to the hospital. The remaining bodies were kept on site and later moved to a nearby multi-purpose indoor gymnasium. Identifying the deceased is expected to take some ti

Oct. 30, 2022

4.1 magnitude earthquake strikes central South Korea, the country's strongest this year

Two consecutive earthquakes, including a 4.1 magnitude one, struck South Korea's central county of Goesan on Saturday, the weather agency said, with no damage or casualties reported so far. The 3.5 and 4.1 magnitude quakes occurred in the village of Jangyeon, northeastern Goesan of North Chungcheong Province, at 8:27 a.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. The KMA initially announced the measured strength of the latter at 4.3 but later revised it to 4.1. The two quakes app

Oct. 29, 2022

[Herald Interview] Penalized pastor vows to continue his fight for LGBT people

Rev. Lee Dong-hwan’s fight to reverse the decision by the Korean Methodist Church to suspend him for two years for blessing LGBT people in 2019 came to an end last week. The church upheld its earlier decision on the grounds that Lee’s action violated the teachings of the church. “It is disappointing to be honest, not because of personal reasons but because it sets a precedent within the Methodist Church,” Lee told The Korea Herald. “I’m afraid that this decisi

Oct. 28, 2022

Opposition party leader discusses follow-up measures with Sewol Ferry bereaved family

The leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, Lee Jae-myung, on Thursday met with the bereaved families of the Sewol Ferry sinking in 2014, and discussed follow-up measures to take. Lee invited three committees, including the committee that represents the Sewol Ferry bereaved families, to the National Assembly early Thursday and held a closed meeting regarding the investigation result of "The Special Investigation Commission on Humidifier Disinfectants and April 16 Sewol Ferr

Oct. 28, 2022

Cases of new COVID-19 subvariants surge in S. Korea

The detection rate of new BA.5 subvariants in South Korea have dramatically increased over the past week, increasing the possibility of a COVID-19 resurgence during the winter season here, according to the country's health authorities Friday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency data, the detection rate of two new omicron subvariants, BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, increased four times to 3.7 percent during the third week of October, from 0.9 percent a week ago. The detection rate

Oct. 28, 2022

[Interactive] Doe a deer, slow the gear

Oct. 28, 2022

Victims of Jeju April 3 Incident to receive compensation from government

The government announced on Thursday it will pay about 25.2 billion won ($18 million) to 300 victims for the Jeju April 3 incident. This will be the first state-given compensation since the incident occurred 74 years ago. The Ministry of Public Administration and Security's "Jeju April 3 Incident honor recovery committee" held a meeting on Jeju Island and decided to pay compensation to 300 out of 304 applicants -- 220 people who died or went missing, 77 people suffering from after

Oct. 28, 2022