Shooting galleries to install CCTVs

By Park Si-soo

Commercial indoor shooting galleries will be mandated to install closed-circuit surveillance cameras as part of efforts to ensure safety, the Prime Minister’s Office said Wednesday.

Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik endorsed a revised ordinance centered on the compulsory installation of cameras during the Cabinet meeting at his office, it said. The revision will take effect from next month.

Shooting galleries are known as popular attractions among Chinese and Japanese tourists.

The measure is the latest in a series of efforts by the government to tighten the safety of such facilities following a tragic fire at an indoor shooting gallery in Busan in October 2009, which killed 15 people, including 10 Japanese tourists.

The fire started after a hot bullet casing fell onto gunpowder remnants in the corner of the gallery, police said. The gallery had no CCTVs so its operator failed to immediately spot the fire and deal with it.

The revision will affect 35 commercial shooting galleries nationwide, forcing them to set up CCTVs at their ranges, ammunition storage areas and entrances.

They will also be required to go through a security check once a month of their safety equipment including firefighting tools and surveillance cameras.