59 hospitalized after chlorine gas spreads in Jeju hotel

Fifty-nine guests and employees were hospitalized Thursday after chlorine gas spread through the Grand Josun Jeju hotel on Jeju Island, causing nausea, dizziness and other symptoms.

The Jeju Fire Safety Headquarters received an emergency call at around 10:40 a.m. reporting that “all floors of the hotel smelled like bleach.”

Firefighters arrived at around 10:53 a.m. and evacuated all 85 guests staying at the five-star hotel in the Jungmun Tourist Complex in Seogwipo.

Authorities set up a temporary medical center at the site and transported 59 people to nearby hospitals. Their symptoms included nausea, dizziness, vomiting and headaches. None was reported to be seriously injured.

Fire authorities said the incident appeared to have occurred while workers were adding disinfectant during cleaning of the hotel’s first-floor swimming pool that morning. They suspect the disinfectant was mixed in incorrect proportions, generating chlorine gas that spread throughout the hotel.

Some guests criticized the response by the hotel, which is operated by Shinsegae Group’s Josun Hotels & Resorts, according to local reports.

They said the hotel did not immediately evacuate them and failed to provide face masks, even as employees were seen wearing them.

A Josun Hotels & Resorts official said staff had issued evacuation instructions through announcements and visits to guest rooms.

“We made announcements and went to guest rooms to instruct guests to evacuate at the time of the accident, but it appears that some guests who were in bathrooms or the sauna did not hear the announcements,” the official said.

“We tried to provide masks promptly, but the scene was very chaotic, so there may have been some guests we were unable to reach,” the official added.

The company said it was working with fire authorities and other agencies to measure gas concentrations at the hotel and would take steps to minimize inconvenience to guests.