Remembering the tragic ‘Ladies’ Code rainy road accident’: Lessons in safety for the entertainment industry

On September 3, 2014, the worst celebrity accident in the history of the Korean entertainment industry, known as the ‘Ladies’ Code rainy road accident,’ occurred.

At 1:30 AM (KST), a Starrex vehicle plowed through the pouring rain on the Yeongdong Expressway.

At that time, due to heavy rain, the road was flooded, and visibility was poor, causing the speeds of other vehicles on the road to drop to as low as 60 km/h.

However, the vehicle carrying the members reached speeds of up to 135.7 km/h. They had a schedule to perform at a university festival in Seoul on the same day.

Eventually, the vehicle skidded on the wet road and collided with the roadside barrier. Member EunB (22 years old at the time) tragically lost her life at the scene. RiSe (23) suffered severe brain and abdominal injuries and underwent a lengthy surgery but also passed away.

Sojung (21) sustained facial fractures but survived, while Ashley and Zuny, fortunately, avoided major injuries. However, they later revealed that witnessing the accident scene had caused them significant trauma.

The cause of the accident was speeding, but what resulted in the fatalities was the non-wearing of seat belts.

Police believed that EunB, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was thrown out of the window after the accident. RiSe was also not wearing a seatbelt. Only those who were wearing seat belts, including staff members, were able to escape the accident scene with minor injuries.

This incident sounded an alarm in the entertainment industry, where overworking to fulfill schedules like eating meals had been commonplace. Calls for minimizing rigorous schedules and strict seat belt usage grew louder.

Previously, in 2012, the girl group Secret experienced a similar accident but emerged with minor injuries because they were wearing seat belts. In 2007, during a traffic accident involving the group Super Junior, member Kyuhyun was the only one who didn’t fasten his seatbelt, and he suffered serious injuries, falling into a coma before making a remarkable recovery.

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