Accident Occurred at Depth Greater Than Child's Height
Child Floated for 7-8 Minutes After Accident but Safety Personnel and Academy Staff Did Not Notice
[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Nayeon] A first-grade elementary school student who went to a water park as part of an outdoor activity organized by a Taekwondo academy drowned and was not rescued immediately. After receiving treatment, the student passed away 40 days later.
A (7), a first grader, took a Taekwondo academy bus on the morning of June 25 around 8 a.m. to a water park in Hongcheon-gun, Gangwon Province for an outdoor activity.
However, less than four hours later, A was found unconscious in the water and rushed to the hospital emergency room. After receiving treatment in the intensive care unit, A ultimately passed away on the 5th, 41 days after the incident.
The parents of A, who had trusted the Taekwondo academy’s plan to provide a fun time for the children before summer vacation, lost their only child in an instant.
During the recent police investigation, A’s parents learned more details about the accident, which shocked them even further.
According to the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of the accident scene relayed to A’s parents by the police, the time of the accident at the water park was 10:41 a.m., but the rescue occurred only around 10:48 to 10:49 a.m.
A floated face down in the water for about 7 to 8 minutes, but the lifeguards did not notice. Another staff member from a different sports facility at the same pool discovered A belatedly.
The footage also showed that even the emergency first aid being administered to A was not noticed, and the lifeguards only ran over after being called by the academy staff.
At the time of the water activity, not only A’s Taekwondo facility but several other local facilities were present. It was not just A’s academy that went on the outdoor activity; multiple Taekwondo academies in the area had joined together for the outing.
About 160 people from five academies went as a group, and it was confirmed that at A’s academy, two adults were supervising more than 40 children.
A’s parents expressed regret, saying, "If we had known there would be that many people, we would not have sent him."
They added, "We cannot understand how the lifeguards failed to notice. If the golden time had not been missed, our child would not have ended up like this..." expressing their deep sorrow.
The parents also found it difficult to understand that the depth of the wave pool where the accident occurred was a place A should not have entered alone given his height. A was 117 cm tall, but the accident happened in a wave pool where children under 120 cm are required to be accompanied by a guardian.
A’s parents believe there are suspicious aspects surrounding their son’s death and hope that if there was negligence, the police investigation will clarify all doubts transparently.
Kang Daegyu, attorney at Daehan Joongang Law Firm representing A’s parents, stated, "There is clear negligence as neither the lifeguards nor the academy supervisors noticed the child was submerged in the water," adding, "The water park could be subject to the Serious Accident Punishment Act, and the academy could be held liable for professional negligence causing death."
The Gangwon Provincial Police Agency’s Violent Crime Investigation Unit’s Safety Accident Team is currently investigating whether there was negligence on the part of the water park facility and the Taekwondo academy regarding A’s death.
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