Carbon Monoxide Leak at Wando Resort... Negligence Leads to Man-Made Disaster

Only One Staff Member for 109 Rooms
Jeonnam Provincial Police to Expand Investigation
Frequent Guest Complaints Even Before the Accident
Convenience Store and Cafe Facilities Also Neglected

The main causes of the carbon monoxide gas leak accident at a resort in Wando, South Jeolla Province have been identified as poor operation and negligence in management.

According to the Wando Police Station and the Korea Gas Safety Corporation on May 7, at around 6:56 a.m. on May 5, carbon monoxide leaked from the hot water boiler room tank on the fourth floor of A Resort in Wando-gun, resulting in 14 guests being transported to the hospital. The guests exhibited symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, and among them, five were confirmed to be teenagers.

A carbon monoxide gas leak occurred at Wando A Resort, resulting in 14 guests being transported to the hospital. Photo shows the resort where the accident took place. Photo by Lee Jungyeong

At the time of the accident, the number of guests at the resort was higher than usual due to the overlap of the Children's Day holiday and a local festival. Of those experiencing symptoms of poisoning, 11 were staying in four rooms on the fourth floor, two in a room on the third floor, and one in a room on the sixth floor.

The resort had not operated on weekdays and was only open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Despite having as many as 109 rooms, it was revealed that there was only one staff member in charge of management.

Additionally, the resort had received frequent complaints from guests in the past due to problems with hot water supply, and facilities such as the convenience store and cafe had been left unattended for a long time, leading to ongoing dissatisfaction among local residents.

One local resident said, "It is unreasonable to expect a single person to manage a resort with over one hundred rooms," adding, "The resort claimed to have recently completed renovations and reopened, but no one has actually seen any construction work being carried out."

The police consider this accident to be a serious matter and plan to expand the investigation at the level of the Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency. A police official stated, "We will thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident, with a particular focus on whether safety inspections were inadequate and where responsibility for management lies."

Authorities are also expected to come up with measures to strengthen safety management at resorts to prevent similar accidents in the future.