A memorial gathering was held in the Itaewon district of the South Korean capital on Sunday for over 150 victims of a crowd crush that occurred there exactly a year ago.

Mourners have been visiting the narrow alley in Seoul where 159 people lost their lives in the crush ahead of last year's Halloween. The dead included two Japanese nationals and one person who later committed suicide.

People left flowers in the alley that has been named the "Path of Memory and Safety." They also posted messages on the walls.

Among the participants was a Japanese man who lost his 2-year-old son in a crowd crush on a bridge in the western Japanese city of Akashi in 2001.

Shimomura Seiji told NHK he was visiting Seoul in the hope of assisting the bereaved families by sharing each other's sorrow and suffering.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol attended a memorial service at a church in the capital and expressed his sorrow for the victims.

Yoon said his government has been working over the past year to ensure the safety of people in the country. He said his government intends to fully learn the lessons from the crowd crush.