The accident at Seoul Children’s Grand Park on Thursday that claimed the life of a zookeeper bears much resemblance to the accident at Seoul Grand Park last May that also resulted in a zookeeper’s death.



In both instances, the zookeepers entered a compound where ferocious predatory animals were kept ― lions in the latest case and tigers last year ― unaware that one of the gates that kept the beasts contained was open. They were both working alone.



Following a review of the 2014 attack, the authorities drew up a manual for Seoul Grand Park that made it mandatory for zookeepers to work in pairs. Previously, working in pairs had only been a recommendation.



The tragedy of last week’s accident is that the new manual did not apply to Seoul Children’s Grand Park. While Seoul Grand Park is run directly by Seoul City, the operation of Seoul Children’s Grand Park is outsourced to the Seoul Metropolitan Facilities Management Cooperation and there was no requirement for it to adopt Seoul Grand Park’s manual.



The zookeeper was alone when a pair of lions attacked him within a minute of his entering the compound. He did not have any protective gear, and was not in constant radio communication with the office. Although CCTV was in operation, no one was monitoring the screens. It was by coincidence that another worker, making fire safety inspections, discovered the zookeeper on the ground and alerted the office. Closed-circuit television footage shows the lions attacking the zookeeper for more than 10 minutes. A vet who was radioed called 119 and the victim was taken to Konkuk University Hospital, about five minutes away. He died an hour later.



The park said the zookeeper, who usually worked in pairs, was alone that day because it was his partner’s day off. Park authorities added that there was no requirement for zookeepers to work in pairs. Yet, the absence of a partner seemingly cost the zookeeper his life: The partner would have cross-checked that all the gates were shut; and when the attack took place, the partner could have alerted the office immediately. There is also the question of whether the park authorities followed emergency procedures properly ― it took the park authorities 15 minutes to call 119 after another worker had alerted the office.



Following last year’s tiger attack at Seoul Grand Park, Seoul City vowed to improve safety standards at the zoo. Yet those standards were not applied to the city’s other zoo at Seoul Children’s Grand Park. The safety conditions at Seoul City’s zoos are clearly wanting and conditions at other zoos around the country may be just as bad if not worse. The government should conduct a thorough review of all zoos and establish mandatory safety regulations to ensure the safety of both workers and visitors.