Yoon to hold gov't-civilian meeting on safety measures after crowd crush

SEOUL, Nov. 1 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk-yeol will hold a government-civilian meeting next week to discuss improved safety measures in the wake of the deadly Halloween crowd crush, an official said Tuesday.

The meeting is expected be held early next week with Yoon presiding, and relevant ministers and civilian experts attending to analyze the cause of last weekend's tragedy and brainstorm ways to improve safety measures based on examples from other countries, the presidential official told Yonhap News Agency.

At least 155 people, many in their 20s, were killed, and dozens more injured when a surge of people tried to move through a narrow alley in the popular nightlife district of Itaewon during Halloween celebrations Saturday.

Yoon instructed the government Monday to come up with a crowd control system for unorganized and spontaneous events to prevent similar accidents.

Officials said the crowd crush has raised the need to establish a legal and institutional basis for local governments, firefighting authorities and the police to work together organically in the case of large events, like last week's Halloween festivities.

"Roads are managed by local governments, disaster prevention by the firefighting authorities and public safety by the police, which led to a blind spot," one official said.

hague@yna.co.kr
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