On Feb. 26, at 4:20 p.m., a 60-year-old woman who was using a bungee jumping machine fell 8m below and died in the “Sports Monster” on the third floor of “Starfield” in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province. The cause of the incident was that the safety personnel did not insert a safety hook that connected the body to the rope. It was revealed that the safety people were part-time workers who had only worked for two weeks, not experts with safety-related certificates or skills. In addition, it has been confirmed that the Starfield bungee jumping site has only part-time workers as safety personnel, and there was no crash prevention net or shock mitigation mat at the bungee jumping site. The safety personnel responsible for the accident are currently under criminal investigation.
A video of bungee jumping from another point on YouTube has become a hot topic. The content of the video is about a woman trying to bungee jump but hesitating, and a safety guard pushes her knee from behind. After people watched the video, there were critical reactions online, such as “It looks hazardous because there is no mat on the floor.” and “It is too complacent to just push without checking it two or three times.”
Bungee jumping, a leisure sport, has no laws to regulate and manage the experience, even though it could cause fatal accidents. Although 30 years have passed since bungee jumping was introduced in Korea, related laws still need to be improved. Unlike attractions such as rollercoasters that are included in organic facilities under the Tourism Promotion Act and are managed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), no law regulates bungee jumping. An official from Anseong City Hall said “Bungee jumping is not classified as facilities. It is not subject to permission from City Hall, thus falls into a blind spot.”
A safety law was proposed in 2016 to prevent accidents caused by bungee jumping, but was soon abolished. In 2021 and 2022, bills containing safety procedures related to bungee jumping were also proposed but are currently pending in the National Assembly.
If popularized leisure sports are in a blind spot, and pose a threat to citizens, the National Assembly and the government should enact legislation to address them quickly.
