A local government-operated swimming pool blocked the entry of a 6-year-old child, stating that it would have to take responsibility if an accident occurred, but the National Human Rights Commission deemed this a discriminatory act without reasonable grounds. The Commission recommended amending the relevant laws.
According to the Human Rights Commission on the 20th, Mr. A visited a public indoor swimming pool operated by Mr. B with his family in August of last year. The pool official denied entry to Mr. A's 6-year-old daughter, stating, "Children are difficult to manage, and we must take responsibility if an accident occurs."
As confirmed by the Human Rights Commission, the swimming pool had six lanes measuring 25 meters in length and 1.4 meters in depth, as well as a shallow pool for toddlers with a depth of 0.7 meters. Mr. B's implementation rules for operating and managing cultural facilities stated that "children under 6 years old may enter free of charge if accompanied by a same-gender guardian who pays the admission fee. However, those under 5 years old cannot enter," and "children under 6 must be accompanied by a same-gender guardian (adult) to enter." In April of this year, Mr. B planned to amend the implementation rules to prohibit entry to cultural facilities for those under 6 years old, even if accompanied by a guardian.
The Human Rights Commission stated, "It is reasonable to impose entry restrictions only after seeking alternative measures, such as strengthening supervision by having parents or guardians accompany children in order to prevent safety accidents in the swimming pool." It also noted, "(This swimming pool) has a separate shallow pool for toddlers at a depth of 0.7 meters, making it difficult to find a reasonable justification for a total restriction on the entry of children under 6 years old."
The Human Rights Commission urged the county chief of Mr. B to stop the practice of uniformly prohibiting entry and use of the swimming pool for children under 6 years old and to amend the relevant laws.
Meanwhile, in Seoul, a 20-month-old toddler recently died at a swimming pool, leading to the operator's representative being referred to the prosecution. According to police, the 20-month-old foreign toddler was found in cardiac arrest after falling into the outdoor swimming pool at Ttukseom Hangang Park in Gwangjin-gu around 6:40 p.m. on the 27th of last month and was transferred to a hospital but died.
At the time of the incident, the pool was preparing for night operation, and access to the pool area was restricted. This swimming pool did not have two safety personnel stationed at the observation tower and employed some unqualified personnel. The Gwangjin Police have referred Mr. A, in his 30s and the representative of the contracted company for this swimming pool, to the prosecution on charges of professional negligence leading to death and violations of the Sports Facilities Act.