Serious Safety Management Issues at Private Campsites and Kids' Pension Play Equipment in Gyeonggi-do

Children's Playground Facilities within Yeoju A Camping Site

It has been revealed that most private camping sites and kids' pensions in Gyeonggi Province operate children's playground equipment without safety certification or installation inspections.

The Gyeonggi Provincial Audit Office conducted a "Special Audit on the Safety Management of Children's Playground Facilities" from February 27 to March 17, selecting 150 out of 18,268 children's playground facilities across 31 cities and counties in the province ahead of Family Month in May.

The audit results showed that among 20 private camping sites inspected in the province, 17 operated auxiliary facilities without installation and regular facility inspections as required by the "Children's Playground Safety Management Act."

The current "Children's Playground Safety Management Act" mandates that when operating a camping site, playground equipment must have safety certification, and regular facility inspections, designation and training of safety managers, and subscription to injury insurance must be conducted periodically to ensure safety management.

In particular, when Gyeonggi citizen auditors such as construction safety engineers and architectural construction engineers inspected the camping sites, it was confirmed that unregistered children's playground facilities were used for long periods without inspection, posing a high risk of accidents.

At camping site A in Yeoju City, playground equipment had peeling paint and rusty parts, while the slide at camping site B in Yongin City had a broken floor and partially damaged net ropes.

The seesaw installed at camping site C in Yeoncheon County had missing handles, protruding bolts on the play structure, and broken plastic safety panels.

The province also confirmed during this audit that kids' pensions, which have recently been thriving mainly in Gapyeong County and Daebudo in Ansan City, fall outside the registration requirements under the "Children's Playground Safety Management Act," leaving them without obligations for safety certification or regular facility inspections and thus neglected in safety blind spots. Kids' pensions refer to a new type of lodging business that provides children's playground equipment similar to kids' cafes.

Upon inspecting two kids' pensions in Gapyeong County, it was found that low-cost playground equipment imported from China without safety certification had been installed, raising concerns that long-term use without inspection could cause harm and danger to children.

Accordingly, the province has ordered the Tourism Industry Division, the relevant department, to conduct a full survey on the operation of unregistered playground equipment within camping sites.

The 17 sites confirmed during the audit have been ordered to cease use, and measures for dismantling the facilities have been notified to the respective cities and counties. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety has been requested to include playground facilities installed in kids' pensions under the scope of the "Children's Playground Safety Management Act."

Choi Eun-soon, the provincial auditor, emphasized, "We will continue to do our best to create a safer Gyeonggi Province through lifestyle-oriented special audits."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.