NC Park Fatal Accident: Problems Found in Design, Construction, and Maintenance

An investigation has found that the accident in which one spectator was killed when an exterior structure fell at Changwon NC Park in Gyeongnam in March last year resulted from systemic problems spanning design, ordering, construction, and maintenance.

On the 12th, the Gyeongsangnam-do Accident Investigation Committee announced at the Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Office press center, "The louver fall accident at Changwon NC Park occurred due to structural and technical defects in the upper fastening part of the louver, combined with inadequate management throughout all stages including design, ordering, construction, and maintenance."

A louver attached to the exterior wall near the concession stand on the third-base side of Changwon NC Park has fallen off. Reporter Lee Seryeong

Previously, at about 5:20 p.m. on March 29, 2025, during a professional baseball game, a structure installed on the exterior wall near the concession stand on the third-base side of NC Park fell from a height of 17.5 meters.

In this accident, three women who were standing in line in front of the concession stand were injured, and among them, a woman in her twenties, identified as A, suffered severe head and other injuries, was taken to a hospital for treatment, and died two days later.

The fallen structure was identified as a "louver," an aluminum exterior finishing material with a length of 2.6 meters, a width of 40 centimeters, and a weight of about 33.94 kilograms.

This louver is a facility intended for energy saving and aesthetic improvement. A total of 231 louvers (18 rectangular and 213 curved) were installed on the exterior wall of the NC Park baseball stadium, and 82 were installed in the parking lot.

At the location where the accident occurred, repair work had been carried out in December 2022 due to broken window glass, and during this process, the window contractor temporarily removed the louver and then reattached it.

Louver identical to the one installed on the exterior wall of Changwon NC Park in Gyeongnam, and related components such as the fasteners, bolts, and nuts that secured the louver. Reporter Lee Seryeong

The committee cited as the direct cause of the accident the fact that nuts and washers to prevent bolts from loosening were not properly used at the upper fastener (fixing component) connection of the louver.

The design specified the use of a "flange nut," which has a wide contact area and strong fastening force, but in the actual construction, a "cap nut" was used, which looks better aesthetically but has somewhat weaker fastening force. In addition, a flat general washer was used instead of a "lock washer" with ridges that prevent the bolt and nut from loosening.

The committee also pointed out that washers with holes larger than specified by regulations were used, reducing fastening strength, and that slots (elongated holes for inserting bolts, etc.) that were not specified in the detailed construction drawings were used in the fasteners.

Although the design drawings showed round holes, the actual holes drilled in the fasteners were elongated, allowing movement up, down, left, and right when the fastening force of the bolts and nuts was insufficient, the committee added.

Under these conditions, the structure was unable to withstand repeated vibrations caused by wind, such as gusts and building wind, and the nuts on the upper side came off one after another, shifting the weight and force downward and causing the louver to fall, according to the committee's assessment.

Park Gubyeong, chairman of the South Gyeongsang Province Accident Investigation Committee, is explaining the cause of the fatal accident at Changwon NC Park. Reporter Lee Seryeong

As indirect causes of the accident, the committee cited the lack of sufficient construction information related to the louvers in the detailed design drawings and specifications.

It noted that while a certain level of construction information was provided for the semi-circular louvers, information for the rectangular louvers that fell was limited to a conceptual installation diagram.

Other causes identified included ambiguity in the division of responsibility during construction due to the separated ordering method in which government-supplied materials are delivered and installed by the supplier; insufficient management and supervision work by the construction project manager; lack of inspection and management during the maintenance phase; and inadequate inspection and management after completion.

The committee explained that louver installation was carried out in a way where the supplier manufactured the louvers and attached them directly on site, which weakened coordination with other processes and left responsibilities unclear.

It also focused on the fact that the scope-of-work instructions during the window glass repair were not drafted in detail, and that the contractor who removed and reattached the louver was a glass contractor who told police he had no experience in aluminum construction.

In particular, the committee pointed out that, after the construction, inspections should have been carried out on the louvers, which are facilities with a risk of detachment and falling, in accordance with the Facility Safety Act and the Building Management Act. However, only visual inspections were conducted, and no close checks were made using high ladders or similar equipment.

The Gyeongnam Provincial Accident Investigation Committee is announcing the cause of the fatal accident at Changwon NC Park. Lee Seryeong, Reporter

On this day, the committee proposed remedial measures for each construction stage, from design to maintenance.

For the "design stage": specifically include in the detailed design drawings and specifications the standards, materials, performance, and attachment methods for exterior wall finishing materials and attached structures. For the "ordering stage": when ordering construction under the method in which government-supplied materials are delivered and installed by the supplier, sufficiently reflect indirect labor costs and various expense items for on-site management in the construction cost breakdown.

For the "construction stage": verify importance through sample construction; establish verification procedures in the approval process for material supply request forms and detailed construction drawings so that the material, specifications, and performance of accessory materials such as bolts, nuts, and washers can be checked; and use systematic checklists. For the "maintenance stage": thoroughly manage records of defect repair requests and repair history; conduct safety inspections in accordance with the Facility Safety Act and the Building Management Act; and make inspection items and contents more specific when managing buildings.

Committee chairman Park Gubyeong said, "There is a sense of regret in thinking that if the design had been done properly, if material inspection and construction quality had been properly secured during the construction process, and if legally mandated inspections had been carried out properly to detect signs of danger or instability, the accident might have been prevented."

However, regarding who is responsible for the accident, he said, "Based on the accident investigation report, the police will conduct an investigation and announce their findings."

He added, "I apologize for not being able to provide sufficient consolation to the bereaved families during the investigation process and for conducting the investigation without their participation," and continued, "If the bereaved families had participated, there was a possibility that the accident investigation could have been destabilized because NC, Changwon City, the Changwon Facilities Management Corporation, and the construction company would also have been asked to participate, so we were unable to proceed that way."

He went on to say, "We plan to submit the accident investigation report to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport within this month and make the results public through the Gyeongsangnam-do website so that the causes of the accident and measures to prevent a recurrence can be transparently shared," adding, "We hope that the findings and recommendations from this investigation will serve as an opportunity to substantially improve safety levels in the field."

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