Additional safety measures announced for Seoul International Fireworks Festival

Fireworks during the 2019 Seoul International Fireworks Festival are seen from Namsan in central Seoul on Oct. 5, 2019. [YONHAP]

Additional safety measures for citizens will be implemented ahead of the Seoul International Fireworks Festival, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Thursday, such as providing more nearby road control and increasing subway and bus operation on Saturday, when the festival takes place.

Hanwha had announced in August that it will again host the Seoul International Fireworks Festival, for the first time in three years, on Saturday at the Hangang Yeouido Park in western Seoul, where the festival had been held every year until the Covid-19 pandemic. More than 1 million people are expected to gather for the festival this year.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will increase traffic control of nearby roads such as on the Yeoui-upstream Interchange to keep people safe as they walk around the festival, and deploy about 780 police personnel to intersections and roads to manage traffic. Related agencies will jointly crack down on vehicles that violate parking and traffic lights on nearby bridges and surrounding roads.

Subway lines 5 and 9 will run 70 more times before and after the event, though trains on line 5 may pass Yeouinaru Station without stopping if the platform is overcrowded. In order to maintain order on the platforms, about 200 security personnel will be deployed to 16 stations near the event site.

Buses will operate on temporary detours on 19 routes passing through the controlled roads near Yeouido, and 73 more buses will be driven after the festival on 26 nearby routes to accommodate people returning home.

The city will also install more than 100 waste disposal facilities, such as large-sized garbage nets, garbage cans and food collection boxes, for a clean and sanitary viewing experience of the fireworks. More than 200 on-site personnel, including the cleaning crew and employees from the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s related departments and Yeongdeungpo District Office, will work to ensure a clean festival environment.

A total of 80 temporary public toilets will be installed in Yeouido and Ichon Hangang Park, where large crowds are expected to gather during the festival.

“We have prepared detailed measures so that all citizens can safely enjoy the festival,” said Joo Yong-tae, head of the city government’s culture headquarters. “We hope that those who visit the festival will also be considerate of each other and follow the safety rules well.”

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]