SEOUL, South Korea — The South Korean government will conduct a thorough investigation into the Halloween crowd crush that killed more than 150 people in the capital over the weekend, officials said Monday, as the country mourned its worst disaster in years.
Tens of thousands of people had gathered on Saturday in Itaewon, a nightlife district of Seoul that is popular with foreigners, when a crowd surge began in a sloped and narrow alleyway, setting off a deadly panic.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol pays tribute in front of City Hall in Seoul on Monday.
The crowd surge is the country’s deadliest peacetime accident since the 2014 sinking of the Sewol ferry.
Stella Kim and Thomas Maresca reported from Seoul, and Jennifer Jett reported from Hong Kong.