Lotte WorldFree-Admission Entrance Crush
Visitors surged at the entrance to Lotte World during a free-admission promotion announced after an earlier fatal roller-coaster accident. Contemporary reports say about 35 people were injured, mostly teenagers, and the promotion was cancelled afterward.
Incident Overview
What happened
On 26 March 2006, visitors surged at the entrance to Lotte World in Seoul during a free-admission promotion. The promotion had been announced after an earlier fatal roller-coaster accident.
Contemporary reports say the crowd was trying to obtain free passes. The incident led to about 35 reported injuries, mostly minor cuts and bruises, and the promotion was cancelled afterward.
No source located in the supplied research reported deaths from the entrance crush itself.
Venue Details
Where it happened
Venue: Lotte World, Seoul, South Korea.
Source wording varies between “southern Seoul” and “Jamsil, southeastern Seoul”. The official tourism listing places Lotte World at 240 Olympic-ro, Songpa-gu, Seoul.
Incident name: Lotte World free-admission entrance crush. Sources also describe it as a stampede or crush.
Check Disputed Details →Key Figures
Reported Incident Data
Chronology
Timeline of Events
Outcomes
Reported Impact
Disputed Details
Where Sources Differ
The core facts are broadly consistent, but some reported details vary between sources.
Contemporary reports give different estimates of the crowd pressure near the entrance.
Reported “some 50,000 people” crammed the entrances.
Reported more than 60,000 people waiting by around 7 a.m.
Both sources describe the same incident, but their crowd estimates differ.
Most contemporary reporting centres on about 35 injuries, but later wording is less exact.
ABC says at least 35 injuries. Korea JoongAng Daily says about 35 people were injured.
A later retrospective says “scores” of people were injured.
The “about 35” figure is the tighter contemporary figure from the supplied research.
Reports describe the length of the planned promotion differently.
Described it as a week-long promotion.
Korea JoongAng Daily gives 26 to 31 March; Arirang calls it a six-day event.
These may refer to the same planned period, worded differently.
Not Verified
Unverified Details
These items were not confirmed in the supplied research.
Source Material
References
References extracted from the supplied incident document and grouped into source cards.
All Document URLs
Source Links
Direct links to the source material listed in the report.