Man in His 20s Seriously Injured While Swimming at Donggok Valley on the 6th
City Deploys 35 Safety Personnel... No Coverage at Accident Site
"Area Excluded from Management Based on Own Judgment, Measures to Be Taken"
As the heatwave continues day after day, the number of people visiting water recreation areas such as valleys and rivers has surged, prompting calls for preventive measures such as the deployment of safety personnel and facility improvements to prevent accidents. Unlike beaches, valleys and rivers are not covered by safety-related laws, so each local government manages them independently. However, there are concerns that these areas remain vulnerable to accidents due to mistakes in judgment and a lack of personnel.
According to Gwangyang City and the Jeonnam Fire Headquarters on July 7, at around 2:11 p.m. the previous day, a man in his 20s hit his head on a rock while diving from a height of about 2 meters at Donggok Valley in Donggok-ri, Okgok-myeon, Gwangyang City, Jeonnam Province.
As a result of this accident, the man, referred to as A, complained of symptoms of lower body paralysis and was transported to the hospital by 119 emergency responders.
It is reported that, when emergency personnel arrived, A's acquaintances were holding him up in the valley.
According to statistics from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on water-related accidents from 2019 to 2023, there were 117 incidents (with 122 fatalities) over five years. Of these, 52 people, accounting for 43%, were involved in accidents in July.
By location, valleys recorded the highest number of fatalities with 39, followed by rivers with 37, and beaches with 32. The causes of these accidents were identified as poor swimming skills (44 people), lack of safety awareness (40 people), and swimming under the influence of alcohol (21 people).
Despite local governments designating "water recreation safety zones" through ordinances to prevent such accidents at valleys, rivers, and beaches across the country, incidents continue to occur, highlighting persistent safety blind spots.
In particular, beaches are required to comply with safety standards such as deploying safety personnel, equipping powered rescue equipment, and installing watchtowers under the "Act on the Use and Management of Beaches." In contrast, there are no safety management laws for inland water areas such as valleys and rivers, so each local government manages them independently through ordinances.
Starting this month, Gwangyang City has designated 33 managed areas and 2 hazardous areas, including the four major valleys of Baegunsan, and has deployed 35 safety management personnel in accordance with its summer water recreation safety management ordinance.
Of these, eight safety management personnel were assigned to the Donggok-ri area of Okgok-myeon, but it was found that the valley where the accident occurred was excluded from the managed areas and therefore had no safety personnel assigned.
This is because the valley where the accident occurred is shallower than other valleys designated as safety management areas, and the relevant ordinance allows the designation of safety management areas based on factors such as water volume, number of visitors, and water depth as determined by the local government.
Ultimately, mistakes in judgment by local governments are leading to accidents among visitors, prompting urgent calls for a comprehensive review.
Regarding this, a Gwangyang City official stated, "The valley where the accident occurred was excluded from the managed areas because, after reviewing factors such as water depth in accordance with the relevant ordinance, it was considered safer than other areas. There are limitations in managing all valleys as safety management areas due to personnel constraints. We are currently discussing measures such as installing banners and deploying personnel at the site of the accident."
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