Crowd management pilot exercise conducted by the National Police Agency in April this year (Yonhap)
SUWON, Oct 1 (Korea Bizwire) –Gyeonggi Province announced on Friday its intention to implement a ‘crowd management system’ starting in November, in direct response to the tragic crowd incident that occurred during the Seoul Halloween celebration on October 29th last year.
This crowd management system is designed to utilize data from mobile phone base stations to proactively gauge the size of crowds at local festivals and performance venues, issuing safety warnings in advance. The system operates in real-time, providing visual representations of areas where crowds are densely concentrated on a map.
Through continuous monitoring, if there is an increased risk of accidents, such as an unusually high number of individuals gathering in a specific area, this information will be promptly relayed to the police, fire departments, and city and county situation rooms. This collaborative effort aims to assess the situation on the ground and take measures to prevent accidents.
To ensure comprehensive coverage, the system will initially focus on monitoring 120 high-traffic areas within the city, with immediate response protocols in place for sudden crowd gatherings in other areas.
A provincial official explained, “The introduction of this crowd management system has been driven by the necessity for real-time monitoring to address potential social disasters that may arise when event organizers are absent or unclear in their planning. We are committed to securing the necessary project funds in next year’s main budget to sustain and expand the system.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
