Safety flaws plague amusement parks

A recent inspection revealed that several amusement parks in South Korea have safety flaws, a local news outlet reported Friday.

The National Emergency Management Agency found more than 130 safety violations in six amusement parks throughout the country during a routine safety check, according to Yonhap.

The inspection, which is conducted twice a year, targets amusement parks based on the scale, accident records and the need for checkups.

The facilities inspected this year included Seoul Land in Gwacheon, Sangnok Resort in Cheonan, Wolmi Theme Park in Incheon, Tongdo Fantasia in Yangsan, Gwangju Family Land and Gyeongju World Resort.

Of the six amusement parks, Seoul Land and Family Land were found to have the most violations, with 36 cases. Tongdo Fantasia followed with 21 cases.

By type, electrical problems were the most common at 48 incidents, safety control at 40, construction at 33, and gas at 14.

The violations, however, were minor and did not threaten safety, nor did they directly affect visitors, an official at Seoul Land told The Korea Herald. “The safety issues were mostly with the facilities and not amusement park rides,” he said. “Some of the violations included problems with the ice cream machine and insufficient fire extinguishers. We fixed what we could on-site, right away.”

Following the inspection, the NEMA said it was considering restoring mandatory education for safety managers in consultation with the Culture Ministry.

The training has not been mandatory since 2011, when the related clause was removed from the law.

By Suh Ye-seul (sys@heraldcorp.com)