After a series of fatal falls at Incheon Bridge, the drums that had been removed in Aug. were reinstalled.
On the 18th, the Incheon Bridge operator said it reinstalled about 600 plastic drums last month on the shoulders over a 3-kilometer section (1.5 kilometers each way) near the main towers.
To prevent falls, 1,500 drums were installed on Incheon Bridge in Nov. 2022. They were all removed in Aug. after a review with related agencies, as the need to secure shoulders for vehicle parking and stopping during emergencies such as traffic accidents was raised.
However, after the removal, in Sept., three people fell into the sea and died and one person went missing at Incheon Bridge, prompting renewed calls for anti-jump facilities.
An official at the Incheon Bridge operator said, "In consultation with related agencies, we reinstalled the drums as a stopgap measure," and noted, "During high-risk hours, we have strengthened prevention by stopping patrol cars at 10-minute intervals in the main tower section."
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to secure funding and install safety guardrails, a fundamental measure to prevent falls, by next year. It is reviewing installing 2.5-meter-high safety guardrails over a 7–8-kilometer section in both directions around the Incheon Bridge main towers, and the installation expense is estimated at about 8 billion won.
Since its opening in 2009, a total of 90 people have fallen to their deaths at Incheon Bridge; of these, 67 died, 14 are missing, and 9 survived.