Death of 7 Japanese Tarnishes Korea's Reputation

Saturday's fire killing 10 people has added fuel to the nation's notoriety for disregarding safety and prevention measures against potential risks for human lives and properties. It is all the more tragic that seven of the victims were Japanese tourists. What a pity it was to see that their visit to Korea became the last moment of their life? We extend our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families of those killed in the blaze.

The fire broke out at around 2:26 p.m. at an indoor shooting gallery in Busan, the country's largest port city and one of the popular tourist destinations for Japanese. At the time of the incident, more than 10 Japanese tourists were inside the gallery. The blaze was extinguished 40 minutes later, gutting the gallery on the second floor of a five-storey building. The deaths were reportedly caused by severe burns and smoke inhalation.

As seen in repeated fire cases, the shooting range had no adequate fire prevention equipment. Sprinklers were not working. The closed structure of the range without any windows shows that it was poorly designed to control fire risks. It was only constructed to ensure a sound-proofing system and prevent potential rifle accidents. Police, firefighters and electricians conducted a joint safety check on the gallery eight days before the incident. If they had not overlooked the lack of fire prevention measures, the incident could have been avoided.

There is no use crying over spilt milk. It could be said that the tragedy was a ``manmade disaster'' caused by the operator's ignorance of preventive measures and negligence of supervision on the part of the local authorities. Whenever such a fire breaks out police and bureaucrats make empty promises to strengthen safety and prevention regulations as well as crack down on violators in order to avoid recurrence.

Eight people died in a fire at a state-run psychiatric hospital in northern Seoul in 2000 and another eight were killed in a blaze at a cram school in Gwangju City in 2001. A fire in a red-light district in Gunsan City claimed 12 lives in 2002. No one can forget the arson attack on the Daegu City subway train in 2003 which killed 192 passengers. Nine foreigners were killed in a fire engulfing the immigration service's detention center for undocumented visitors in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, in 2007.

Last year, 47 people died in separate fires at two refrigerated warehouses in Icheon, 80 kilometers south of Seoul. The country also lost Namdaemun gate, a 610-year-old landmark at the heart of the capital city, in February 2009, due to another arson attack. All those incidents were blamed on the nation's widespread violations of safety and fire prevention steps.

In particular, the shooting range fire is feared to have negative implications on the nation's tourism industry and its international image. Prime Minister Chung Un-chan visited a morgue at a Busan hospital to extend his condolences and apologize to the families of the victims. It was coincident that the fire took place on the same day when a gala ceremony was held in Seoul to celebrate the ``Visit Korea Year'' campaign for 2010 to 2012. Now, it's time for the nation to take revolutionary steps to prevent a recurrence of such a fire-induced tragedy.