S. Korea officials admit responsibility in Halloween tragedy
Source: AP
By HYUNG-JIN KIM
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean officials admitted responsibility and apologized on Tuesday for failures in preventing and responding to a Halloween crowd surge that killed more than 150 people and left citizens shocked and angry.
The government is facing growing public scrutiny over whether the crush Saturday night in Seoul’s Itaewon district, a popular nightlife neighborhood, could have been prevented and who should take responsibility for the country’s worst disaster in years.
National police chief Yoon Hee Keun said an initial investigation found there were many urgent calls from citizens notifying authorities about the potential danger of the crowd gathering in Itaewon. He said police officers who received the calls failed to handle them effectively.
“I feel a heavy responsibility (for the disaster) as the head of one of the related government offices,” Yoon said in a televised news conference. “Police will do their best to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again.”
A man weeps as he pays tribute to victims of a deadly accident following Saturday night's Halloween festivities on a street near the scene in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022. South Korean police investigated on Monday what caused a crowd surge that killed more than 150 people during Halloween festivities in Seoul in the country’s worst disaster in years. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
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