SEOUL, Nov. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – The Ministry of the Interior and Safety revealed on November 13 that it has identified eight focal areas for upgrading safety regulations after poring over fifteen causes of overcrowding accidents in the last 25 years.
The ministry will require a video showing the various exits and evacuation procedures to be shown at the beginning of any performance or event, similar to the measures currently implemented at movie theaters.
The government also beefed up safety precautions at regional festivals. Going forward, organizers must include costs for emergency measures in the festival budget, one of which will be crowd control training for festival staff.
The initial three-day period for festival registration or change-of-date and cancellation was extended to five days to account for enhanced preparatory safety inspections.
Temporary staff and volunteers who were previously exempt will receive mandatory safety training.
The ministry said in a statement that it expects the incidence of accidents at performances and regional festivals to decline provided its checklist of guidelines is abided by.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)