Consumer Agency: "Indoor Gym Disability Facilities Still Inadequate"

27 Professional Basketball and Volleyball Arenas
Only Seosuwoen Chilbo Gymnasium Meets Regulations

It has been revealed that convenience facilities for people with disabilities are still insufficient in indoor sports gyms.

On the 12th, the Korea Consumer Agency announced that out of a total of 27 venues surveyed, including 16 professional basketball stadiums and 11 professional volleyball stadiums nationwide, only one stadium met the convenience facility regulations for people with disabilities. Wheelchair user seats in indoor sports gyms must secure a certain effective area per seat (0.9m × 1.3m) and have seats for companions to sit together. In addition, there should be no obstacles in front of the seats that block the view, and safety handrails must be 0.8m or lower in height. Among the 27 venues, only Seosu-won Chilbo Gymnasium fully complied with these regulations. The other venues had issues such as no companion seats next to wheelchair seats or obstructed views due to banners.

None of the ticket booths met the installation regulations to accommodate wheelchair-using disabled spectators. Only two indoor sports gym corridors had handrails installed to assist disabled mobility, and most places either lacked Braille signs on stair or ramp handrails or did not meet the standards.

Externally, all 27 surveyed venues complied with regulations securing parking spaces for people with disabilities, and there were no passage obstructions caused by obstacles. However, only seven venues properly installed the disabled parking area guide signs and exclusive markings within the parking spaces according to regulations. The rest either omitted essential information on the guide signs or failed to properly paint the exclusive markings on the parking lot floor.

Based on this survey, the Consumer Agency recommended that gym management entities improve convenience facilities for people with disabilities and plans to request relevant government departments to strengthen management and supervision.

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