What we know so far about the Itaewon tragedy, and what could come next



Analysis What we know so far about the Itaewon tragedy, and what could come next Crowd crush that killed over 150 has shaken country with collective trauma over past disasters and government failures Jeongmin KimOctober 31, 2022 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON ROK President Yoon Suk-yeol visits the Itaewon alley where the Oct. 29 crowd crush occurred \| Image: Presidential Office (Oct. 30, 2022) South Koreans awoke Sunday to news of one of the most horrific and deadly tragedies in the country’s history, after more than 150 people predominantly in their 20s died overnight in a massive crowd crush while celebrating Halloween in Seoul. New details about what led to the disaster in a narrow alleyway in the popular international neighborhood of Itaewon continue to emerge, and the death toll could rise further as more than 30 survivors remain in critical condition. But while questions remain about the city’s crowd control policies and why there weren’t more police present, and as conspiracies spread online © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. LATEST ANALYSIS 01Trump’s Korea investment victory lap masks safeguards Seoul still controls 02North Korean POW dispute tests Seoul-Kyiv trust and future Ukraine policy 03South Korea’s CPTPP push exposes the cost of turning trade gains into consensus 04AI storage boom gives South Korea battery makers an EV overcapacity lifeline 05South Korea’s Mexico strategy runs into the hard limits of USMCA politics 06Preschool test ban forces South Korea’s English hagwons to rethink placement 07Lee Jae Myung’s Wall Street pitch tests South Korea’s capital market credibility 08US midterm clock raises stakes for South Korea’s $200 billion investment talks

Analysis

What we know so far about the Itaewon tragedy, and what could come next

Crowd crush that killed over 150 has shaken country with collective trauma over past disasters and government failures

Jeongmin KimOctober 31, 2022

What we know so far about the Itaewon tragedy, and what could come next

ROK President Yoon Suk-yeol visits the Itaewon alley where the Oct. 29 crowd crush occurred | Image: Presidential Office (Oct. 30, 2022)

South Koreans awoke Sunday to news of one of the most horrific and deadly tragedies in the country’s history, after more than 150 people predominantly in their 20s died overnight in a massive crowd crush while celebrating Halloween in Seoul.

New details about what led to the disaster in a narrow alleyway in the popular international neighborhood of Itaewon continue to emerge, and the death toll could rise further as more than 30 survivors remain in critical condition.

But while questions remain about the city’s crowd control policies and why there weren’t more police present, and as conspiracies spread online

LATEST ANALYSIS

01Trump’s Korea investment victory lap masks safeguards Seoul still controls
02North Korean POW dispute tests Seoul-Kyiv trust and future Ukraine policy
03South Korea’s CPTPP push exposes the cost of turning trade gains into consensus
04AI storage boom gives South Korea battery makers an EV overcapacity lifeline
05South Korea’s Mexico strategy runs into the hard limits of USMCA politics
06Preschool test ban forces South Korea’s English hagwons to rethink placement
07Lee Jae Myung’s Wall Street pitch tests South Korea’s capital market credibility
08US midterm clock raises stakes for South Korea’s $200 billion investment talks

What we know so far about the Itaewon tragedy, and what could come next

LATEST ANALYSIS

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Jeongmin Kim