Korean Actor Yoo Ah In Insists He “Had No Part” In Itaewon Tragedy After Rumours Claim The Crowd Surged To See Him

Questions have swirled as to what may have triggered the Itaewon Halloween crowd crush that took the lives of 156 people.

Rumours have been spreading online that an A-list celebrity was at a bar near the scene of the accident on Oct 29, causing crowds to swarm the area.

Though authorities clarified that they have yet to verify the cause of the crowd surge, netizens insist actor Yoo Ah In, who lives in Itaewon and is known to frequent the nightlight district, was said celebrity that triggered the tragedy.

His agency has since denied the rumours, insisting that Ah In “had no part in what happened in Itaewon” and that he was overseas when the incident happened.

“He had business outside the country, so he left Korea on Oct 29 and is currently overseas,” it said in a statement.

Besides Ah In, other celebs who were accused of being the trigger include Lee Ji Han, former baseball team Kia Tiger cheerleader Kim Yuna, both of whom died in the stampede, as well as influencer Park Jung Kyu, who goes by BJ K on Afreeca TV.

Jung Kyu said he has been the target of online bullies after netizens pointed the finger at him for allegedly causing the crush.
 
“I first want to express my deepest condolences to the victims. It really hurts. However, I’ve been receiving a lot of hate messages from people online saying that people were crowding over to the area where the crush happened to come to the bar that I was in, but that’s nonsense,” said Park.

“I only had to go into one of the bars to escape the large crowd outside and stayed indoors for just 30 minutes because the bartenders said it looks too dangerous outside. The rumours are going out of hand.”

Photos: Yoo Ah In/Instagram, BJ K/Instagram