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Police to prepare for BTS's comeback concert by deploying special units, increasing counterterrorism measures

Published: 09 Feb. 2026, 17:55 Updated: 09 Feb. 2026, 19:12

BTS performs during the group’s “Permission to Dance on Stage” concert at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Nov. 28, 2021. [BIGHIT MUSIC]

Police are preparing for crowds of up to 260,000 people at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul next month for a BTS comeback concert by deploying special police units and stepping up counterterrorism measures.

Park Jeong-bo, the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, said at a regular press briefing on Monday that police have formed a task force led by the agency’s deputy commissioner general for public safety to oversee preparations.

Police estimate that about 230,000 people could gather between the performance stage north of Woldae — a stone platform once used for royal ceremonies — near Gwanghwamun and Deoksu Palace’s Daehanmun, but that number could swell to as many as 260,000, according to Park.

“We are preparing based on the assumption that the maximum number of people could gather,” he said.

People wait in line to enter Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul as they visit during the Chuseok holiday on Oct. 8, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]

Authorities will divide the area into four zones — dubbed core, hot, warm and cold in Korean — based on crowd density and further subdivide those areas into 15 sections, with a senior superintendent-level officer overseeing crowd control in each one.

To prepare for possible disorder, violence or terrorist attacks, police will deploy 13 violent crime teams from nine precincts and forward-deploy special police units to inspect for explosives and identify suspicious individuals in the area.

Police will also monitor online communities for threatening posts, with a dedicated cyber investigation team conducting round-the-clock online surveillance.

The band's agency and concert organizer HYBE has said it will deploy 3,553 safety personnel, but police have asked the company to bolster its safety measures under the “beneficiary pays” principle, which places the primary responsibility for event management on the organizer.

“Depending on conditions at the site, we may request even more additional safety personnel,” Park said. “Large crowds could spill onto roadways, so we must prepare thoroughly to protect the public's safety.”

Police said they will apply charges under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection and obstruction of business statutes against those who use macro programs to unfairly book free tickets or disrupt ticket sales by causing server failures.

A pedestrian takes a photo of a promotional sign for BTS's fifth full-length album, set to release in March, at Jongno District, central Seoul, on Jan. 22. [NEWS1]

Separately, police will launch a 10-day special security campaign focusing on relationship-based crimes, including child abuse, domestic violence and stalking, from Monday through Feb. 18 for the Lunar New Year holiday, which runs from Feb. 16 to 18 this year.

Police plan to reassess high-risk cases, reinforce response protocols and step up patrols in areas with large populations of women living alone by deploying mobile patrol units and riot police.

During the holiday period, special police units will also be forward-deployed to major transit hubs and department stores for counterterrorism operations, and additional officers will be assigned to tourist-heavy areas such as Myeongdong, Hongdae, Gangnam District and Seongsu.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]