Audit Report Analyzes Itaewon Tragedy and Recent Major Disasters in South Korea
On the 23rd, the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea published a report titled Inspection of Disaster and Safety Management Systems, analyzing three major social disasters that occurred in the last five years, including the Itaewon tragedy, the Miryang hospital fire in 2018, and the wildfires in Gyeongbuk and Gangwon in 2022. This report marks the first audit-related document concerning the Itaewon tragedy that occurred on October 29, 2022, nearly three years after the incident.
According to the report, the Board concluded that the Itaewon tragedy was a human-caused disaster resulting from insufficient prior preparations and initial responses to the anticipated large crowd. On Halloween night, 2022, at approximately 10:59 PM, a crowd crush occurred in a narrow alley near Hotel A in Yongsan District, resulting in 159 fatalities and 344 injuries. The Board criticized local authorities, stating that they had failed to predict and manage the dense crowd effectively. It highlighted the lack of safety planning, such as the absence of safety personnel deployments and the failure to instruct disaster management officials to patrol the area or gather disaster information shortly before the crowd crush occurred.
The report also pointed fingers at the police, indicating that their preparations were inadequate. Despite conducting prior analyses that indicated the risk of crowd-related accidents on Halloween, the police units responsible for crowd management were not deployed in advance on the day of the tragedy. Furthermore, between 6:34 PM and 10:11 PM on the day of the incident, the police received a total of 11 reports concerning concerns about crowd crushes but failed to share this critical information with relevant agencies.
Additionally, the report revealed that the authorities communication and reporting regarding the incident were significantly delayed, which hampered initial responses. The local government of Yongsan failed to activate the National Disaster Management System (NDMS) and did not communicate effectively with emergency services, further exacerbating the situation.
This audit serves as a critical examination of the systemic failures that contributed to the Itaewon tragedy and highlights the need for improved disaster management and safety protocols to prevent similar incidents in the future. The findings emphasize the importance of proactive measures and timely communication among authorities to ensure public safety during large gatherings.
According to the report, the Board concluded that the Itaewon tragedy was a human-caused disaster resulting from insufficient prior preparations and initial responses to the anticipated large crowd. On Halloween night, 2022, at approximately 10:59 PM, a crowd crush occurred in a narrow alley near Hotel A in Yongsan District, resulting in 159 fatalities and 344 injuries. The Board criticized local authorities, stating that they had failed to predict and manage the dense crowd effectively. It highlighted the lack of safety planning, such as the absence of safety personnel deployments and the failure to instruct disaster management officials to patrol the area or gather disaster information shortly before the crowd crush occurred.
The report also pointed fingers at the police, indicating that their preparations were inadequate. Despite conducting prior analyses that indicated the risk of crowd-related accidents on Halloween, the police units responsible for crowd management were not deployed in advance on the day of the tragedy. Furthermore, between 6:34 PM and 10:11 PM on the day of the incident, the police received a total of 11 reports concerning concerns about crowd crushes but failed to share this critical information with relevant agencies.
Additionally, the report revealed that the authorities communication and reporting regarding the incident were significantly delayed, which hampered initial responses. The local government of Yongsan failed to activate the National Disaster Management System (NDMS) and did not communicate effectively with emergency services, further exacerbating the situation.
This audit serves as a critical examination of the systemic failures that contributed to the Itaewon tragedy and highlights the need for improved disaster management and safety protocols to prevent similar incidents in the future. The findings emphasize the importance of proactive measures and timely communication among authorities to ensure public safety during large gatherings.
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