Spate of Accidents Met with Absurd Excuse: Finding Out Through News Reports

[Anchor]

Recently, an incident occurred at Wolmido in Incheon where a visitor was thrown out of an amusement ride. It has been revealed, however, that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the regulatory department responsible for management and supervision, was completely unaware of the accident. The explanation they provided was nothing short of absurd.

Reporter Kwon Min-kyu has the details.

[Reporter]

People are gathered in front of an operating amusement ride, and a man is lying barefoot on the ground.

This is where a person in their 30s was thrown out while riding the "Disco Pang Pang" at Wolmido Theme Park in Incheon last August.

Yet, the amusement ride continued to operate,

[Footage provided by YouTube channel "Silvery": If anyone feels dizzy or has a hard time while riding, please let me know. That way I can let you down in the middle.]

The theme park claimed that it received a favorable evaluation regarding its safety during a regular inspection by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

[Wolmido Theme Park Official: There is nothing wrong. If there had been a problem with the machinery, everyone who rode it should have had problems.]

[Wolmido Theme Park Visitor: If (safety) was rated as favorable, an accident like that shouldn't have happened. It inevitably lowers our trust in the inspection that received a favorable rating.]

Over the past 10 years, amusement ride accidents at Wolmido Theme Park reported to the police alone reached 10 cases, causing severe casualties such as a 10-year-old girl falling from the air or a ride crashing from a height of 40 meters, injuring five people.

Under the Tourism Promotion Act, when a major accident occurs on an amusement ride, the operator must notify the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and take safety measures.

However, data submitted by the Ministry to the National Assembly shows that there has been only one major accident during the same period.

They claim that under current law, unless the damage is severe enough to cause a visitor's death or unresponsiveness, it is not considered a major accident.

When asked how they track amusement ride accidents, an official in charge at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism gave the absurd answer that they only find out after seeing news reports.

[Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Official in Charge: We naturally figure out the details of the accident once it appears in the news. Since there is no legal obligation to (report) unless it is a major accident...]

[Choi Min-hee / National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee Member (Democratic Party of Korea): Managing only major accidents is truly passive administration. Through legal revisions, whenever casualties occur, we must ensure that the government and local authorities are mandatorily notified...]

When SBS asked about improvement measures, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stated, "We plan to review improvements to the scope of accidents by gathering opinions from experts."

(Camera: Kim Nam-sung, Lee Sang-hak | Video Editing: Shin Se-eun | Design: Yang Gi-tae | Footage provided by the office of lawmaker Choi Min-hee)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.