Lotte World closes amid safety fears

Citing safety concerns, Seoul`s biggest amusement park, Lotte World, announced yesterday it will shut down all facilities for four months and undergo a full-scale renovation.

"From 11 a.m. today, all rides and other facilities including the ice-rink and swimming pool will be closed down for inspection and repairs. We are expecting the renovation process to take about four months," a Lotte World official said yesterday.

For visitors who were unaware of the shutdown, the park was open for two hours from 9 a.m.

Lotte World has been under fire for ignoring expert warnings about its aging facilities, despite a series of accidents including the death of an employee who fell off the roller coaster last year.

Last week, Dongyang Structural Engineers Group and the Korea Disasters Research Institute disclosed the result of their two-month examination of the amusement park, raising serious safety concerns.

According to the examination, severe problems were found in four of Lotte World`s facilities including the roller coaster ride, the movie theater, the swimming pool and the bumper car arena.

More problems had been found in the aging ceilings of the indoor playground and the park`s poorly managed electric equipment which left exposed power lines near pedestrian areas.

Warning of the possible collapse of ceilings and electric shocks or fires, the report had advised Lotte World to immediately renew its aging facilities.

After the report was disclosed, the Songpa District Office ordered the amusement park to shutdown six rides immediately.

Inciting public outrage, Lotte World had initially refused to make immediate safety adjustments and said that it would not renovate its facilities until March. Critics accused the park`s management of deliberately delaying repairs so as to avoid profit losses during school winter vacation.

"The original plan was to begin full-scale renovation on March 2 as we had already closed down rides that were in need of immediate repairs. But because many citizens were showing concerns after the examination results were revealed, we decided to make the repairs sooner," Lotte said. "We fully appreciate concerns surrounding the company and promise to take all necessary measures."

Established in 1989, Lotte World is one of Seoul`s most popular tourist attractions with over six million visitors every year.

But following a series of major safety accidents, the amusement park earned itself an embarrassing nickname of "Death World" from the public with critics blaming the park for its lax safety standards.

In March last year, a Lotte worker died after falling off a roller coaster ride. To the public`s astonishment, a closed circuit television image later revealed that one of the roller coaster`s attendants had failed to properly check a passenger`s safety belt before operating the ride.

The amusement park intended to make a public apology over the roller coaster death by allowing free admission a few weeks later. But with more than 30 people injured in a stampede, authorities ordered a temporary shutdown of the park.

The police charged three park operators for the roller coaster death and stampede.

Still more accidents followed with a boy being severely injured after being hit in the head by a ceiling tile which fell off during a roller coaster ride in June.

(hayney@heraldm.com)









By Shin Hae-in