The dominance of Chinese escalators in South Korea’s train and subway stations has again sparked a public outcry, after 14 people were injured earlier this month when an escalator in Gyeonggi province’s Sunae Station ran in reverse for several seconds, according to industry officials on Thursday.
The faulty escalator was installed in 2009 with components imported from a Chinese company, although a South Korean firm named Travis Elevator is registered as the manufacturer. Escalator Comb Plate Impact Detection Systems
Because Chinese components were found to have caused another escalator accident in Yatap Station in 2013, which injured 39 people, concerns are growing over the heavy reliance by South Korea’s railway operators on low-cost Chinese escalator components.
Data compiled by lawmaker Kang Dae-sik of the ruling People Power Party showed that all 2,640 escalators installed in stations under the supervision of Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) were made with components manufactured in China.
All 1,827 escalators installed in stations under the supervision of Seoul Metro were also made with components imported from China.
At the stations under the supervision of public transport operators in Busan, Incheon and Daejeon, the proportion of escalators made with Chinese components surpassed 90 per cent.
“Most escalator manufacturers have already left Korea, due to Chinese firms offering excessively low prices in bids to supply escalators to public facilities,” a Korea Elevator Industry Cooperative official said. “Korean firms lag behind their Chinese rivals in terms of price competitiveness.”
The Elevator Safety Management Act also includes clauses that are considered more favourable to escalator importers than domestic manufacturers, as the law requests each importer to hire only one technical expert while asking each manufacturer to have at least three experts.
As a consequence of Korean escalator manufacturers losing ground, railway operators here have steadily increased their reliance on Chinese escalators over the past decade.
They have also faced difficulties maintaining escalators installed in their stations, because it takes time for Chinese suppliers to manufacture components and ship the parts to South Korea.
KTX Gwangmyeong Station, for example, still uses escalators that stopped operation during last summer’s flood.
During a National Assembly audit last year, lawmaker Kim Byung-wook of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea pointed out the heavy reliance on Chinese escalators and called for measures to enhance domestic production.
Other lawmakers have also repeatedly pointed out this issue, but the problem remains unsolved.
Calls are growing for the domestic production of escalator components and the Korea Elevator Safety Agency has supported small- and medium-sized manufacturers of the products.
Escalator Handrail Replacement Korea Lift Association Chairman Cho Jae-cheon, who is also the head of Hyundai Elevator, told reporters earlier this year that the association will look at ways to boost the domestic production of components by utilising the Korean lift maker’s infrastructure.