By Jung Min-ho

A glass entrance door at the Lotte World Mall in southern Seoul fell and almost hit a passerby Sunday, the mall's safety management committee said Monday.

The incident was the latest in a series of safety lapses that have recently occurred at the mall located inside the 2nd Lotte World.

According to the committee, the upper hinge of the door broke away from a first floor entrance at 10:34 a.m. Sunday. A customer passing by prevented it falling further with his hands before laying it on the floor.

As a precaution, the man was immediately taken to a nearby hospital, where he had an X-ray examination, but no injuries were found, the committee noted.

The latest incident came after the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) vowed last month to shut down the mall, if additional safety lapses occur there due to improper safety management and response systems.

"We found that there was a problem with the welding on the door. We plan to replace all the German-made hinges with different products," the committee said in a statement. "Within 18 minutes after the incident, an ambulance took him to hospital and he left there with no injuries."

A similar incident happened in December, when another glass entrance door also on the first floor fell for the same reason and hit a customer passing by. She suffered minor head and shoulder injuries.

At that time, Lotte didn't call 119 for an ambulance. She was treated at a medical room within the Mall and was later taken to a hospital.

During his surprise visit to the second Lotte World on Feb. 9, Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin said he would personally take care of safety management to dispel concerns over the building.

He said, "I will visit here to check safety once a week without notice. I will always keep in mind that safety is the most important thing."

His public commitment to carrying out spot safety checks indicates how significant public concerns are regarding the 123-story skyscraper.

According to Lotte, the mall currently has about 50,000 daily visitors, about half the number who attended during the first weeks after it opened in October.

The parking lot's occupancy rate is also declining — the mall is capable of accommodating up to 2,700 vehicles, but less than 500 cars use it daily, down from 800 late last year.

After a series of safety problems, including cracks in the mall's aquarium, vibration problems in the movie theater and the death of a construction worker in the building, Lotte recently formed a safety management committee.

Korean Language

제2롯데월드 1층서 출입문 이탈 사고

잠실 제2롯데월드에서 출입문이 이탈하는 사고가 또 일어났다.



제2롯데월드 안전관리위원회는 지난 15일 오후 10시 34분께 롯데월드몰 쇼핑몰 내 1층 반고흐 카페 매장 옆 8번 출입문이 이탈됐다는 신고를 접수했다고 16일 밝혔다.



제2롯데월드 안전관리위원회 시설팀이 현장에 즉시 출동해 확인한 결과, 한 남성 고객이 유리로 된 출입문을 열고 나가던 중 출입문 상단의 연결부위가 이탈돼 문이 분리돼 기울어졌고 그 과정에서 남성 고객이 문을 손으로 받아 내려놓는 상황이 발생했다.



이 남성은 안전위원회의 신고로 출동한 119구급차로 병원에 이송됐으며, 엑스레이(X-ray) 검사 결과 이상이 없어 안정을 취한 후 귀가했다고 위원회 측은 전했다.



위원회는 '조사 결과 사고 원인은 출입문에 사용된 독일 G사 제품의 내부용접 불량으로 추정된다'며 '재발 방지를 위해 전량 타사 제품으로 교체할 예정'이라고 밝혔다. (연합뉴스)