As Korea's running boom continues, lawmakers work to curb accidents during marathons

On the back of Korea’s running boom, thousands of people are gathering for marathons on the weekends. 

The recent surge in running’s popularity is reflected in the growing number of marathons across the country. A total of 494 took place last year alone, according to data from the online forum Marathon Online. The figure is more than 10 times the 49 recorded in 2021.

However, as more marathons take over cities, those who don’t participate inevitably have to tolerate traffic-related inconveniences and other issues — but the more pressing problem lies in the increasing number of reported accidents stemming from the races.

Last November, a runner was killed in Okcheon County, North Chungcheong, after being hit by a truck during a marathon involving around 300 participants.

The victim was running on the second lane of a two-lane road, but a truck abruptly switched from the first lane to the second and hit them. At the time, police had been overseeing only one of the two-lane roads, leaving both runners and passersby on other roads in danger.

The incident underscored the mounting concerns about safety management at marathons and prompted lawmakers to take action.  

The current rules

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Park Jeong-ha and nine other lawmakers proposed a bill in December 2025 to “establish provisions that authorize the central government to review and oversee local governments’ safety management measures [for marathons], conduct inspections and recommend the suspension of events when necessary.”

The bill is intended to address gaps in the existing regulatory framework. Under the current law, marathon organizers only need to submit an application to the local government and receive prior approval from the police to use any roads. The process does not reportedly entail a rigid review, making it easy for anyone to host a race at an available time.

Marathons that have more than 1,000 participants face additional requirements. For example, organizers must employ the relevant safety measures, such as placing cones along the course or providing medical assistance when necessary. But for events with fewer than 1,000 participants, their safety guidelines are not subject to government review.

As a result, smaller-scale marathons are subject to less stringent regulations. 

“Car accidents during smaller marathons happen because safety guidelines do not have to account for traffic rules,” a representative from Daegu Marathon told the Korea JoongAng Daily. “In the case of the Daegu Marathon, the police deploy a sufficient number of personnel to manage traffic, so we have not experienced any accidents caused by inadequate traffic control.”  

The Daegu Marathon is subject to tighter government regulations, as it sees well above 1,000 runners. Around 41,000 runners took part in the race in February.

Call for stronger measures

Under the proposed bill, local governments will have greater control over marathons to prevent similar fatal accidents.

Marathon organizers will be required to “establish a sports event safety management plan, provide advance notice of the plan to the head of the local government as prescribed by the Presidential Decree and take the necessary measures, including conducting safety training and inspections, to ensure safety.”

Additionally, local government heads will be able to require organizers to reinforce safety plans.

For road use, organizers will have to obtain approval not from the police but from a safety committee, which local governments will establish. The committee will consist of members of the police, fire departments and other relevant agencies.

The committee will act as a de facto governing body for marathons and review “whether safety measures are detailed and implementable, and whether organizers have sufficiently secured personnel, equipment and budget for safety management.”

“The bill leaves the details to a Presidential Decree,” an aide from PPP Rep. Park’s office told the Korea JoongAng Daily. “We’ll probably have to wait until the bill is passed [by the National Assembly] and the decree is issued to know more.”

Such details include whether the new rules will apply to all marathons, regardless of the number of participants.

Once the bill is declared a law, the government can set specific guidelines on how many emergency responders must be present or what equipment should be prepared in advance for marathons.

The parliamentary Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee filed the final version of the proposed bill in March, and it is currently pending approval from the Legislation and Judiciary Committee as of Tuesday.

Views on the system

The proposed safety measures will affect every participant, including foreigners, who comprise a large share of marathoners.

A total of 6,424 foreign runners took part in a race involving around 40,000 people in Seoul in March — a 70 percent increase in foreign participants for the same event last year, according to the Seoul Marathon.

“Even within Korea, it’s very hit or miss depending on the race,” Chad Miller, a U.S. national living in Korea, shared his marathon experience with the Korea JoongAng Daily. “The larger ones are extremely well-organized, while smaller ones don’t consider the crowd size or other factors, such as heat-related illnesses, that may lead to hazardous situations.”

He also recalled one marathon that he considered to lack safety guidelines.

“I ran a race recently that was along the Han River, and the course was basically completely overlapping with the bike path,” he said. “As far as I could tell, there was little to no restriction on access to the course by pedestrians or cyclists, creating hazards for both runners and cyclists […] due to the sheer volume of people running the race.  It was much worse at the beginning of a race, when everyone was bottlenecked, which also speaks to the crowding problem.”

With marathons evolving from occasional competitions into a regular part of daily life in Korea, the government faces the dual task of ensuring participants’ safety and preserving the running culture that many people have come to enjoy.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN, FERGUS GOODALL SMITH [[email protected]]