Emergency Services dispatched to Peggy Gou’s Seoul Boiler Room set after dangerous overcrowding

Boiler Room’s event in Seoul was shut down for crowd crush concerns before the headline set from South Korea native Peggy Gou.

On Saturday, the much-anticipated Boiler Room show at SFactory in Seoul, South Korea was stopped mid-show due to overcrowding concerns. The shutdown came sometime shortly after 12:30 AM, just before beloved South Korean artist Peggy Gou was able to take the stage. The venue was evacuated and the show did not resume.

According to the Korea Times, local emergency services dispatched 11 fire engines and 42 firefighters to the venue after receiving reports of overcrowding. While five attendees received treatment for difficulty breathing, no fatalities or serious injuries were reported.

One anonymous witness who had previously hosted events at SFactory told the Korea Times that “a jam” was caused as fans attempted to reach the third floor where Peggy Gou was to play her set. They also noted that many fans disregarded the one-way stair system that the venue had put in place for the evening. “The issue is that only so many people would have been able to see Peggy Gou at once,” said the witness. 

Boiler Room confirmed in a social media statement on Tuesday that there were “crowd-flow issues” that resulted in “safety concerns” and “the early closure of the event.” They denied allegations that the event was over-sold, claiming that they “sold to the capacity that was instructed by our partner in Seoul” and the event was actually “under capacity” at the time it was shut down. In another statement, Boiler Room added: “We are reviewing our systems internally to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Peggy Gou told Mixmag after the cancellation that she was “devastated” that she wasn’t able to play her set, but “the safety of my audience is of paramount importance.” She added: “I have asked my team to immediately review the risk assessments for all my future shows and ensure there is a system in place to guarantee they are being adhered to.” A “larger event” in Seoul is now in the works to allow fans in the city to watch their national hero on the decks sometime soon.

Featured Image: Instagram / Peggy Gou