Home > National > Social Affairs

Sauna customer receives compensation after slipping on towel in changing room

Published: 25 Sep. 2025, 09:24

A sauna. The image is unrelated to the story. [GETTY IMAGES BANK]

A sauna operator has been ordered to partially compensate a customer who slipped on a towel and suffered a fracture in the changing room.

The Seoul Southern District Court ordered the company that operates the sauna to pay 13 million won ($9,000) to a 79-year-old customer on Thursday.

In July 2022, the customer fractured bones in their left thigh and pelvic area after stepping on a towel and slipping in the sauna’s changing room. They were hospitalized for over 20 days for treatment.

At the time of the accident, water was leaking from an air conditioner on the ceiling. The sauna had placed a towel on the floor and a water basin on top of it.

The customer later filed a lawsuit, claiming the operator failed to install warning signs or restrict access to the area despite the risk of slipping or falling.

The court acknowledged that the company was negligent in its duty to manage the facility and was liable for the accident.

However, it limited the operator’s responsibility to 60 percent, citing that the customer could have avoided the accident if they had been more cautious of the floor while walking.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]