BUSAN — Ocean Flying Theme Park, a 12 billion won ($8.6 million) facility built by Busan's Yeongdo District, has drawn criticism over lax safety practices after the district went ahead with reopening procedures and a test run despite faulty wire rope installation and missing safety review documents.
Yeongdo District conducted a test run of the park on Sept. 30, according to the Yeongdo District Council on the 1st. The council's administrative management committee had repeatedly asked the district to complete safety verification before opening and had requested related documents, but the district pushed ahead with its schedule without securing key safety paperwork, council members said.
The project drew 12 billion won in total, including 2 billion won from the Busan metropolitan government and 10 billion won from the district. It first opened in 2023 with a zipline, a cafe and media art facilities. Operations were suspended from June this year after the contract with the previous operator was terminated amid the company's deteriorating finances.
The problem surfaced as the district selected a new operator and processed a permit for the use of public property. The original design drawings specified 19-millimeter wire for the zipline's core component, and a structural review document for that specification exists. But the wire actually installed was found to be 16 millimeters. No structural safety review document for the 16-millimeter wire exists.
The Korea Industrial Safety Association had also conducted two safety inspections, in June 2024 and November 2025, recommending that "bolts, nuts and plates corroded at the time of construction require priority repair" and that "because the specification of the descent wire rope differs from the design drawings, structural calculations applying the changed components are essential." Despite those warnings from the expert body and the council's objections, the district has yet to obtain structural calculations and is proceeding with full opening procedures, the council said.
"They are rushing to open early and pushing ahead with operations while ignoring the most basic and critical safety verification," a council official said. "A thorough check is needed on whether these construction and management failures were properly examined in the recent audit by the Busan metropolitan government."
