Board of Audit and Inspection releases interim findings on safety management at major public sports facilities

Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro-gu, Seoul. [Provided by Seoul Facilities Corporation]
Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro-gu, Seoul. [Provided by Seoul Facilities Corporation]

Major baseball stadiums hosting professional games have left serious roof structural defects unaddressed or conducted inadequate safety reviews, South Korea's Board of Audit and Inspection found.

The findings raise concern that accidents similar to last year's fatal incident at Changwon NC Park's Masan Stadium — where a structure fell from an outer wall above a third-base concession stand, killing a spectator — could happen again.

The Board of Audit and Inspection released the interim findings Wednesday as part of its audit on safety management at heavily used public sports facilities.

According to the board, major venues including Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, Munhak Stadium in Incheon and Jamsil Sports Complex were found to have either left roof structural defects unaddressed or carried out inadequate safety reviews.

Seoul Facilities Corporation confirmed in June 2024 that 23 of the 466 steel truss joints on the Gocheok Sky Dome roof had bent beyond permissible construction tolerances. A detailed safety inspection was conducted, and experts recommended reinforcing both sides of the affected trusses.

The corporation proceeded with repair work by reinforcing only one side of each truss, following the contractor's recommendation, without conducting an independent structural safety verification.

When the board commissioned a specialist institution to re-examine the structural safety, it found that even the already-reinforced truss joints lacked sufficient load-bearing capacity.

"It is not severe enough to close the stadium immediately, but it is genuinely dangerous if unusual conditions — such as strong winds or heavy snow — occur," a board official said.

At Munhak Stadium in Incheon, deterioration of roof structural components has been ongoing while repairs and reinforcement have been delayed for an extended period.

Incheon city confirmed during a detailed safety inspection in August 2024 that 50 of the 5,578 steel truss members supporting the roof had sustained damage.

The number of damaged members grew from one identified during a 2021 safety inspection to 46 in a 2023 detailed safety assessment, and then to 50 in 2024.

Despite this, Incheon city planned to carry out reinforcement work in 2028, when the professional baseball team using the stadium as its home ground is scheduled to relocate.

Jamsil Sports Complex was also cited for inadequate structural safety reviews. Seoul Metropolitan Government is pursuing a 518.2 billion won ($390 million) remodeling project to replace and repurpose the aging Jamsil Baseball Stadium. A detailed safety assessment conducted in December 2021 had already found that the complex's roof structure would struggle to withstand wind pressure under open conditions and required reinforcement — yet the city moved forward with the remodeling project without separately addressing the roof.

The board said the audit uncovered numerous cases of missed safety inspections, substandard inspections and inadequate follow-up management of facilities where defects had been identified.

"The number of people using heavily trafficked sports facilities has surged with the growth of professional sports and K-pop performances, yet lax facility management is fueling public anxiety over the risk of structural collapses, fires and other safety incidents," a board official said.

The official added that the interim findings would be finalized after deliberation by the audit committee.


sang@heraldcorp.com