BTS's Gwanghwamun concert ended, but controversy over crowd estimates and police safety measures continues to spark debate.
March/23/2026 19:19Related Groups & Members
The BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan) Gwanghwamun concert has closed, but the controversy continues. According to estimates from the organizer HYBE, about 104,000 people gathered on the day, while the Seoul city estimate is about 48,000. There are criticisms regarding the police's initial estimate of a maximum of 260,000 attendees. At a regular press conference on the 23rd, Seoul Police Chief Park Jung-bo revealed that they had prepared extensively and were very tense for the BTS Gwanghwamun concert, but fortunately, the event ended safely and orderly without major incidents. In response to the criticism that the crowd prediction was excessive, Chief Park stated, 'When we mentioned 260,000, it was based on the capacity if the area up to Sungnyemun was filled with people. The police must prepare for the worst-case scenario and how to respond if that number comes in.' He also expressed his belief that it is better to be overly cautious regarding citizen safety than insufficiently so. Regarding the voices of excessive police regulation on the day of the concert, Chief Park said, 'Considering the situation in the Middle East, we prioritized safety for this event.' He added, 'We had to consider the threat of terrorism, so citizens may have experienced inconvenience.' A total of 15,500 safety management personnel were deployed for the BTS Gwanghwamun concert. Looking at the personnel composition, two-thirds were public officials. On the day, over 10,000 were public officials and public institution workers, including police (6,700), Seoul city (2,600), fire department (800), Seoul Transportation Corporation (400), and the Ministry of Public Administration and Security (70). The remaining approximately 4,800 were private personnel mobilized by HYBE. Criticism has also arisen regarding the large deployment of fire safety personnel for BTS's comeback concert, with the Korean Fire Agency rebutting that simple comparisons to fire scenes are factually incorrect. BTS is also reportedly conducting secret rehearsals for their comeback concert, with police announcing strict vigilance against terrorism.
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