[Reporter’s Notebook] Ski Resort Lifts Halted by Lax Regulations and Safety Negligence

Over 70 Stranded at Elysian Gangchon
Four Similar Accidents in the Past Year
Recurring Issues Due to Superficial Regular Inspections

On the 29th, an accident occurred at Elysian Gangchon Ski Resort in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, where a lift stopped, bringing the issue of safety negligence in ski resort facilities back into the spotlight.

Lift accidents at ski resorts happen repeatedly every year, and there are ongoing criticisms that related safety inspections are merely formalities. Currently, ski and tourist lift facilities undergo an annual regular inspection for performance and safety by the Korea Transportation Safety Authority in accordance with relevant laws. There are a total of 122 lifts across 19 ski resorts nationwide registered with the Transportation Safety Authority. Since the inspection is not a detailed examination involving disassembly of the entire lift but mostly a visual check, it is difficult to identify any problems with the facilities. Because of this, even when stoppage accidents occur, the cause is often unknown initially, and the process of identifying issues afterward is repeated. All six lifts operating at Elysian Gangchon Ski Resort, where about 70 users were stranded and rescued after about 20 minutes, had passed the regular inspection in April last year.

The situation is not much different for lifts that had similar accidents in the past year. Last month, at Alpensia Resort Ski Resort in Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon Province, a lift stopped, leaving 54 users suspended in the air for over three hours before all were rescued. After about three weeks of analysis, the resort announced that "the lift stopped due to roller stoppage caused by malfunction during the chair intake process." This facility also passed the regular inspection. Earlier, in January last year, lift accidents at Bearstown Ski Resort in Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi Province, and Welli Hilli Park Ski Resort in Hoengseong-gun, Gangwon Province, were presumed to be caused by parts breakage and mechanical defects respectively, but the regular inspection results were 'suitable.'

Another concern is that many ski resort lifts are aging facilities installed decades ago. According to the Transportation Safety Authority, 63 lifts, accounting for 51.6% of the total, are over 20 years old. A leisure industry official said, "Although ski resorts are strengthening their own inspections, since these are not mandatory and usage is high only during certain seasons, there are limits to disassembling and regularly maintaining the facilities." It is urgent to improve the loose regulations without binding force rather than relying on special safety inspections conducted by the ski resorts themselves only after accidents occur.