Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading

Factbox-Some of South Korea's major disasters and accidents

A parent of a victim reacts at a community service center after a stampede during Halloween festivities in Seoul, South Korea, October 30, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a period of national mourning on Sunday after a crush of Halloween partygoers killed 151 people in a packed nightlife area in Seoul overnight.

South Korean leaders have pledged to change how the country operates after a series of major accidents and disasters tarnished the image of a nation that rose to wealth from the rubble of a war in a few decades.

Here are details of some of South Korea's worst disasters and accidents over the last three decades:

April 2020: Thirty-eight people are killed and at least 12 injured in a fire accident at a logistics facility construction site in Icheon near Seoul.

January 2018: Forty-seven people are killed and at least 145 injured in a fire at a hospital in Miryang in the southeastern province of South Gyeongsang.

December 2017: Twenty-nine people are killed and at least 40 injured in a fire at a multi-purpose building in Jecheon in the central province of North Chungcheong.

April 2014: Two hundred ninety-five people are killed and nine missing in the sinking of a ferry vessel on the sea off Jindo in the southwestern province of South Jeolla.

February 2014: Ten people are killed and at least 105 injured when a gymnasium roof collapses after heavy snowfall in Gyeongju in the southeastern province of North Gyeongsang.

January 2008: Forty people are killed and at least 10 injured in a fire at a cold storage facility in Icheon.

October 2005: Eleven people are killed and at least 162 injured in a stampede at a stadium in Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province.

February 2003: One hundred ninety-two people are killed, six missing and at least 151 injured in an arson incident on a subway train car in the southern city of Daegu.

June 1995: Five hundred and two people are killed, six missing and at least 937 injured in a collapse of a department store building in the afternoon in Seoul.

April 1995: One hundred and one people are killed and at least 202 injured in a collapse after a gas explosion at a subway construction site in Daegu.

October 1994: Thirty-two people are killed and at least 17 injured in a collapse during the morning commute on a bridge crossing the Han River in Seoul.

(Compiled by Seoul Newsroom; Editing by William Mallard)

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.