Fell While Trying to Pick Up Phone Missing Vent... Fatal Accident in the Heart of Gangnam

Ventilation Duct Regulations Not Applied to Incidents Occurring Before Pangyo Accident

A man in his 40s who tried to pick up a dropped cellphone in Gangnam, Seoul, fell into a ventilation shaft five floors underground and died.

According to Suseo Police Station and Channel A on the 16th, the accident occurred around 11 p.m. on the 11th in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, when a man in his 40s fell into a ventilation shaft next to the sidewalk while trying to retrieve a dropped cellphone.

Sidewalk in front of Exit 4 of Myeongdong Station, Seoul Subway.

The ventilation shaft was five floors underground. The man was discovered around 5 p.m. the next day by a security guard of a nearby building. The guard reportedly called the police, saying, "I saw a faint object below the ventilation shaft." When the police found Mr. A, he was already deceased.

The police and fire department immediately responded and found the man on the floor of the mechanical parking lot on the fifth basement level, but he was already dead. After reviewing nearby CCTV footage, the police believe that Mr. A, who had been drinking at the time, dropped his cellphone into the ventilation shaft and fell while trying to open the ventilation shaft cover to retrieve it. The police are investigating the detailed circumstances of the incident.

Mismatch Between Government and Local Authorities Over Ventilation Shaft Regulations and Guidelines

The sidewalk leading to Exit 3 of Gyeongbokgung Station on the Seoul subway. Ventilation facilities for the subway occupy most of the sidewalk, and citizens are walking over them.
[Photo by Asia Economy]

Although nine years have passed since the 2014 Pangyo ventilation shaft fall accident, there are concerns that citizens' safety is still threatened due to mismatches between the government and local authorities regarding ventilation shaft regulations and guidelines.

In 2014, a ventilation shaft fall accident in Pangyo, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, resulted in 16 deaths and 11 injuries. Since then, a rule was established requiring access-blocking facilities if the ventilation shaft height is less than 2 meters. However, the ventilation shaft where the recent accident occurred was constructed before 2015, so this regulation did not apply.

The safety standards for ventilation shafts in the "Regulations on Equipment Standards for Buildings" also reflect the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's guidelines. Ventilation shafts must be installed at a height of at least 2 meters from the ground to ensure the safety of pedestrians and building users.

This is to prevent people from climbing onto or approaching the ventilation shafts due to the risk of safety accidents. However, frontline local governments have not properly managed or supervised this, putting citizens' safety at risk.

In particular, some ventilation shafts are ground-level and located right next to bus stops, where it is common to see people walking over the ventilation shafts during rush hours.

These ventilation shafts have metal mesh installed on top, and although there are slight differences, many are more than 10 meters deep to the floor. If weight is applied to the mesh, the risk of falling increases, so extra caution is required when passing over ventilation shafts.

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