사진 확대 Rep. Son Sol of the Progressive Party. Yonhap News Agency
Eleven people have died in accidents at domestic golf courses over the past three and a half years, according to a survey.
Sohn Sol, a member of the Progressive Party of the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, said on the 29th, “According to data from the Fire Department, nine people were killed and 38 injured in outdoor golf course accidents from April 2022 to August this year. Including the death of a Gapyeong golf course in October, a total of 11 people died,” he said.
According to Sohn Sol’s office, the number of rescue cases has surged to 339 in 2022, 344 in 2023 and 656 last year since the National Fire Agency began managing statistics by classifying golf courses as separate accident sites in 2022. In the first eight months of this year, 363 accidents occurred. Of the 1,702 cases that occurred in three and a half years, 26% were accidents that led to direct casualties such as fires, falls, and jamming.
Sohn Sol’s office said, “As a result of data on the accident at Gapyeong Golf Course in October submitted by the Gyeonggi Northern Police Agency and a visit to the site on the 28th, 10 days after the accident, there were only about 15 centimeters of kerb and a 1-meter-wide lawn at the site of the accident. There was no safety fence or crash warning at all. There was also a 5m high tunnel bridge underneath the accident site, but there was no sign to announce it.
Rep. Son Sol expressed his opinion that he was able to prevent outdoor golf course accidents. Most of them could have been prevented if they had thoroughly managed the facilities and inspected safety, he said. “The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism should conduct a full investigation and emergency inspection of roads, carts, and safety facilities at golf courses nationwide.”
