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Busan Metropolitan City Conducts Special Inspections on Three Water Play Facilities to Ensure Safety for Infants and Children

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced today (August 12) that it will conduct special inspections on three water play facilities, including those in Gangseo-gu.

This special inspection aims to ensure a safe environment for infants and children who primarily use these water play facilities.

In accordance with the Water Environment Conservation Act, the inspection will cover compliance by facility operators and managers, including cleanliness of the surrounding area, the presence and functioning of automatic pump water supply devices, and proper operation of disinfection facilities. Additional checks will be carried out on water supply, drainage, and filtration systems.

The city will also review the results of the facilities’ own water quality tests—conducted at 15-day intervals from the facility’s start of operation—covering four parameters: turbidity, pH, total coliform bacteria, and free residual chlorine. The inspection will verify whether appropriate corrective measures were taken when hygiene issues arose.

Facilities found to be non-compliant will be subject to immediate closure orders. They will be allowed to resume operation only after completing necessary cleaning or corrective measures and obtaining a “compliant” result in a follow-up water quality test. In addition, separate fines of up to KRW 1 million will be imposed.

Meanwhile, since June, the city has been conducting regular inspections of 116 water play facilities in collaboration with district and county offices. Publicly operated facilities (43 in total) are inspected by the city, while privately operated facilities (73 in total) are inspected by the respective district or county offices. All inspections are scheduled to be completed by August 31.

The city will require that user guideline boards for water play facilities be installed in clearly visible locations, and will strengthen public awareness efforts to prevent issues caused by personal hygiene lapses (such as urination or vomiting).

Lee Byeong-seok, Director General of the Environmental Water Policy Office, stated, “Since water play facilities are mainly used by infants and children, we will strengthen management and supervision of facility managers and operators to ensure a safe and enjoyable environment. We also plan to conduct ongoing additional inspections of facilities that receive complaints or require further review,” adding, “We ask all visitors to be especially mindful of personal hygiene, considering these are shared-use facilities.”