S. Korea marks one-year anniversary of deadly Halloween crush
South Korea held a memorial ceremony on Sunday (October 29) to commemorate the one year anniversary of the deadly Halloween crush, which killed 159 people and injured another 196, mostly in their twenties and thirties. - REUTERS
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00:00 A year after 159 Halloween revelers were killed in a crowd crush in South Korea, the capital's
00:07 nightlife districts of Itaewon was quiet.
00:10 Halloween decorations were replaced with posters and flowers in the alleys that once hosted
00:16 lively festivities.
00:19 Last year's crowd surge in Itaewon, resulting in the tragic alley crush, was attributed
00:23 to insufficient preparation and crowd control, with early calls for help going unanswered.
00:30 Most victims were in their 20s and 30s.
00:34 Some residents and visitors came to Itaewon to pay their respect to the victims.
00:39 Kim Ki-sun is from Seoul.
00:41 "I've been emotionally devastated for the past year over the young friends who tragically
00:51 lost their lives here.
00:52 I've come here also to show the children the impact of such a tragedy and to mourn those
00:58 individuals.
00:59 That's why I'm here."
01:06 Gatherings have not been banned in Itaewon over Halloween this year.
01:09 However, the authorities conducted crowd control drills using an AI-backed network of cameras.
01:17 Last year's tragedy led to a police investigation, revealing negligence and a poor response by
01:22 authorities.
01:23 Families of victims called for the special legislation of the bill to find out the truth
01:27 behind the tragedy.
01:29 While 23 officials were referred for prosecution, no senior government officials resigned or
01:35 were removed over the disaster.
01:37 [BLANK_AUDIO]