Forum on escalator safety set for Aug. 29

The Ministry of Interior and Safety announced Monday it is recruiting public participants for its participatory policy forum, to be held Aug. 29.

The forum goes beyond the longstanding debate over whether escalator riders should stand in one line or two. It is designed as a public deliberation space where participants can examine the causes of escalator accidents, actual usage patterns, equipment and maintenance conditions, and potential policy improvements.

The event will open with presentations by elevator and escalator industry experts, followed by open discussion in which public participants can freely share inconveniences they experience in daily life and propose ideas for improvement.

Departing from the conventional format of one-way policy briefings by experts, the forum is designed as an interactive discussion where citizens and specialists exchange views and work together toward solutions.

The ministry plans to review and incorporate the range of opinions gathered at the forum into future efforts to improve escalator safety culture and advance related policy.

To help participants engage meaningfully, the ministry will provide background materials in advance, including statistics on escalator track lengths, operating speeds, and the number of units by incline angle across the country.

The forum runs from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Aug. 29 at Yonsei University's Baekyang Nuri. Any South Korean citizen with an interest in escalator safety is welcome to apply.

Those wishing to attend may register through the ministry's website or through Sotong Hyeoksin 24, a public online communication platform, by Aug. 10.

Ahead of the in-person forum, the ministry is also conducting an online pre-survey to gather a broader range of public input.

On the Sotong Hyeoksin 24 forum board, users can submit their views on escalator safety questions through an online poll. The results will be revealed at the Aug. 29 forum.

"Escalator usage culture touches our daily lives directly, and opinions on it vary widely — making it a topic that calls for deliberation and discussion with the public," Minister Yun said. "We hope this forum will help build social consensus around a shared usage culture, and we encourage citizens to take interest and participate."