At least dozen injured in escalator accident at Gyeongbokgung Station

Social Affairs

Published: 04 Dec. 2023, 11:11

At least dozen injured in escalator accident at Gyeongbokgung Station

Escalator at the Gyeongbokgung Palace subway station in Seoul being banned after a malfunction occurred on Monday. [YONHAP]

A dozen or so people were injured after an escalator at Gyeongbokgung Station in Seoul went reverse.

Two of them were taken to hospital.

The escalator malfunction occurred at 8:42 a.m., during the rush hour.

Seoul Metro said it is looking into the cause of the malfunction.

On June 8, 14 people were injured when an escalator went reverse at Sunae Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi. Three of them were taken to hospital.

The incident also occurred when the subway station was crowded at 8:20 a.m.

The subway operator and the government conducted an investigation, finding that the wear and tear of the escalator components caused the malfunction.

It was found that more than 17 percent of the escalators at subway stations were outdated, as they were built at least 15 years ago.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]