Seoul activates large scale safety plan for BTS Gwanghwamun concert

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has announced a large scale safety management plan ahead of BTS’ upcoming concert at Gwanghwamun Square.

On March 9 KST, Seoul Mayor Oh Se Hoon held a safety inspection meeting at City Hall to review preparations for the event. He emphasized the importance of thoroughly checking locations where people may climb or gather and ensuring additional safety reinforcements where necessary.

“Accidents occur the moment we become complacent because something feels familiar,” the mayor said. “We must remember that accidents often begin with just one percent of carelessness.”

He also stressed that the entire downtown area should be treated as part of the event venue.

“We need to prepare the entire area from Gwanghwamun to Seoul Plaza as one integrated event space,” he said. “Managing only the stage area will not be sufficient. Traffic control and crowd management must operate together as one coordinated system.”

Mayor Oh further noted that the city’s responsibility will only end once the last attendee returns home safely. He also highlighted the need for thoughtful guidance for international fans, particularly ARMY, the official fandom of BTS.

“It is important to provide clear information for fans visiting from overseas,” he said. “We should encourage them to download necessary information in advance and place multilingual guidance staff at key locations so that fans can leave with positive memories.”

Seoul officials expect a large crowd for the comeback event and have established a Citizen Safety Headquarters led by the director of the Disaster and Safety Office. The task force includes eight divisions responsible for overall coordination, traffic management, medical services, rescue operations, facility management, foreign visitor support, monitoring, and administrative assistance.

Approximately 3,400 personnel will be deployed in cooperation with local districts, fire authorities, and related agencies. The Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters will station 99 fire vehicles and 765 personnel, the largest deployment ever for an event of this kind, to reduce emergency response time.

Authorities have also inspected surrounding facilities such as railings, stairs, sculptures, and ventilation structures. During the first inspection conducted last month, 24 potential risk factors were identified and are currently being addressed, with a second inspection scheduled before the event.

Meanwhile, BTS will release their fifth full length album ‘ARIRANG’ on March 20. The following day, the group will hold ‘BTS THE COMEBACK LIVE: ARIRANG’ at Gwanghwamun Square, which will be broadcast live on Netflix.