Police-fire Halloween costumes sold illegally online

They also sell handcuff-pistol models without certification.
The Itaewon disaster was mistaken for cosplay
Real Police – Fire, Rescue – Delayed Response
Wearing similar clothes, up to 6 months in prison
During the Halloween disaster in Itaewon, it was said that people in official uniforms on the street might not know that the rescue is real, and there are many companies that rent and sell police uniforms online. Under current law, it is illegal for ordinary people to buy or possess police uniforms.

On the 1st, the Dong-A Ilbo searched for ‘Halloween Police’ in the portal’s online shopping corner and found 18,882 products including police uniforms and accessories. Among them were many products that were indistinguishable from real police uniforms. Prices ranged from 15,000 won to 15,000 won.

Some companies said, “For renting a police uniform, an official document stating the purpose of use is required,” but the majority were able to buy or rent uniforms without any special verification process. In fact, it took less than 5 minutes to go through the process of buying a police uniform worth 30,000 won online. No separate procedures were required to pay, such as identity verification. The seller said, “If you pay an additional 5,000 won, you can buy handcuffs and a pistol model for 25,000 won.”

According to the Police Uniform Equipment Act, it is illegal for a non-police officer to wear or possess police uniform or equipment. The law also includes a clause “you must not wear a police uniform similar to making it difficult to identify with the police.” Breaking this rule can result in imprisonment for up to six months or a fine of up to 3 million. Even in the case of fire fighting uniforms, there is a possibility that it could breach the Criminal Misconduct Act.

Mo Kim (26), who witnessed the disaster on the 29th of last month, met a reporter from the Dong-A Ilbo at the memorial site at Itaewon Station on the 31st and said, “Even when the police going into the venue, there’s a lot of people wearing similar costumes around, so they think it’s Halloween cosplay and don’t get out of the way. There were a lot,” he said.

As the controversy surrounding wearing a uniform escalated during the disaster, some online shopping centers stopped selling uniforms from the afternoon of the 1st. A police official said, “The response may be delayed because citizens in police uniforms are misunderstood as the police.”

Reporter Lee Seung-woo suwoong2@donga.com