Law enforcement officials management an alley in central Seoul’s Itaewon, Oct. 31, 2022, close to the location of the Halloween crowd catastrophe that killed at the least 158 individuals a couple of days earlier. Korea Occasions photograph by Shim Hyun-chul
By Jung Da-hyun
The Nationwide Police Company (NPA) introduced, Thursday, its plan to implement stringent controls on the promoting and sporting of police uniforms as costumes throughout Halloween celebrations.
The plan comes after rescue operations have been hindered by pageant individuals wearing police uniforms throughout final 12 months’s tragic Itaewon crowd crush.
The crackdown on police costumes started on Tuesday and is ready to proceed till Nov. 5. Each the sale and sporting of police costumes can be topic to the management measures.
Carrying a police costume can result in confusion, particularly in emergency conditions, in accordance with the NPA. The misidentification of partygoers dressed as police in addition to real law enforcement officials not in uniform can impede security administration, the NPA added.
Relating to the lethal crowd crush that claimed at the least 158 lives in Itaewon on Oct. 29 final 12 months, it was famous that dispatched law enforcement officials have been mistakenly perceived as civilians sporting costumes resulting from different individuals dressed up as police. This confusion resulted in a delay in responding to the catastrophe.
The present legislation prohibits people who will not be police from sporting uniforms or related clothes resembling official police uniforms, or possessing gear utilized by police.
Those that violate the legislation resist six months imprisonment or as much as 3 million received ($2,207) in fines. Sellers could resist one 12 months in jail or as much as 10 million received in fines.
A screenshot of an internet portal web site promoting police uniforms for Halloween costumes
However, a 12 months after the catastrophe, advertisements for police-related Halloween costumes can simply be discovered on on-line portals and used merchandise markets.
Costumes are being bought for costs starting from 10,000 received to 30,000 received, whereas gear comparable to batons, walkie-talkies and handcuffs resembling these utilized by precise law enforcement officials can be found for 50,000 received to 60,000 received.
The NPA has taken motion in a complete of 42 circumstances of violations of the legislation, together with the removing of on-line posts, by steady inspections of 51 portal websites and used merchandise markets since final Halloween. Additionally, 19 people have been arrested for violating associated legal guidelines, and three circumstances are at present beneath investigation.
“We’re conducting thorough inspections on every portal web site and on-line market prematurely of Halloween, and we additionally plan to introduce pointers on grownup costumes that would confuse the general public,” an NPA official mentioned.
