"93% of Escalator Accidents Caused by Safety Rule Violations"... Seoul Metro Launches Safety Campaign

Focused Guidance on the Three Major Safety Rules for Chuseok
Joint Campaign with the Korea Elevator Safety Agency

Seoul Metro announced on the 24th that, together with the Korea Elevator Safety Agency, it held a joint escalator safety campaign at Sadang Station on Lines 2 and 4 on the 23rd, ahead of the Chuseok holiday.

As of 2025, Sadang Station ranks sixth in Seoul Metro’s passenger transport volume and serves as a major transfer hub with consistently high passenger traffic. With a significant increase in travelers and holidaymakers expected during the Chuseok holiday period, the two organizations organized an on-site campaign to prevent escalator accidents.

Over the past three years, escalator accidents have averaged around 50 cases per year, showing an upward trend. In fact, there were 43 cases in 2023, 52 cases last year, and 55 cases recorded as of September this year. Of these accidents, 93% were caused by failure to follow elevator safety rules. Most incidents resulted from careless behaviors such as not holding the handrail, walking or running on the escalator, and attempting to board with strollers or carts in an unsafe manner. Escalator accidents can lead to mass casualties due to chain falls, requiring special caution.

The purpose of this campaign was to raise awareness among citizens about these risks and encourage them to practice safety rules on their own. On-site, the “Three Major Escalator Safety Rules”-holding the handrail, not walking or running, and using elevators when carrying strollers or carts-were emphasized.

A total of 40 employees from Seoul Metro and the Korea Elevator Safety Agency participated, distributing promotional materials and directly explaining the safety rules to encourage active citizen participation. Multiple announcements were also broadcast on-site, warning that “the risk of accidents increases during holidays as more passengers are in a hurry than usual.”

Seoul Metro plans to continue joint campaigns with the agency, focusing on stations with frequent accidents. The company will also strengthen various preventive activities, including frequent escalator safety announcements and continuous broadcasting of safety promotion videos within stations.

Ma Haekeun, Head of the Operations Division at Seoul Metro, stated, “The actions of each and every citizen are the starting point for a safer subway,” and added, “Since even minor carelessness can lead to major accidents, we ask everyone to always hold the handrail and refrain from walking or running on escalators by following the basic safety rules.”

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