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Seoul to sound sirens to mark 3rd anniversary of Itaewon tragedy

Published: 28 Oct. 2025, 20:34

The alley in the Itaewon neighborhood of Yongsan District, central Seoul, where the Itaewon crowd crush occurred on Oct. 29, 2022, is empty on Oct. 28, a day before the third anniversary of the disaster. [NEWS1]

Sirens will sound across Seoul for one minute at 10:29 a.m. on Wednesday to mark the first official government-led memorial for the victims of the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said on Tuesday that it will host the third-anniversary memorial ceremony at Gwanghwamun Square together with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and two civic groups — the 1029 Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families Council and the Oct. 29 Itaewon Disaster Citizens’ Countermeasure Committee.

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok will attend as the government’s representative, along with the National Assembly speaker, political and religious leaders, civic groups and members of the public. About 2,000 people are expected to take part.

"The event carries special meaning as it is the first memorial ceremony attended by a government representative to honor the victims and console the bereaved families," the Interior Ministry said.

The city government and the ministry sent text alerts to the public at 3 p.m. Tuesday and will send another at 9 a.m. Wednesday to prevent confusion when the sirens sound at 10:29 a.m.

The ceremony will begin with a moment of silence following the sirens and include remarks by a family representative for the victims, a memorial video, eulogies, a recital of a memorial poem, a speech by a representative of foreign victims’ families and a tribute performance.

Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung said the memorial was jointly prepared by the government and the bereaved families.

"The government will make public safety its top priority to ensure such a tragedy never happens again," Yun said.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HAN EUN-HWA [[email protected]]