An escalator at Sunae Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, which operated in reverse for several seconds and left 14 people injured, is cordoned off with tape and fences, in this June 2023 photo. Yonhap

Korean escalator companies have been competing against their Chinese counterparts, which have predominantly supplied components in Korea.

Hyundai Elevator has taken the lead in these efforts by establishing a joint venture, K-Escalator, with small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) earlier this year to resume domestic production of escalators and components.

Last month, K-Escalator celebrated the opening of its factory in Geochang County, South Gyeongsang Province.

"Frequent accidents and delayed supply of components have caused safety concerns in the domestic escalator market, which has been dominated by low-cost foreign products," a Hyundai Elevator official said.

Last year, 14 people were injured in Sunae Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, when an escalator equipped with components imported from a Chinese company, suddenly reversed direction for several seconds.

Chinese components were found to have caused another escalator accident in Yatap Station in the city in 2013, which injured 39 people.

Hyundai Elevator CEO Cho Jae-cheon, eighth from left, poses with participants at the launching ceremony for K-Escalator in Geochang County, South Gyeongsang Province, Sept. 25. Courtesy of Hyundai Elevator

Over the past few decades, Hanson Lift and other Chinese companies have overwhelmed Korean escalator companies by offering excessively low prices in bids to supply escalators and components to public facilities.

Most Korean firms have just assembled and installed components from China, instead of producing their own products. Hyundai Elevator has also supplied escalators manufactured in its Chinese subsidiary to reduce costs.

Additionally, the Elevator Safety Management Act includes clauses that are considered more favorable 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 result, all escalators installed in stations under the supervision of Korea Railroad Corp. and Seoul Metro were made with components imported from China.

At the stations under the supervision of public transportation operators in Busan, Incheon and Daejeon, the proportion of escalators made with Chinese components surpassed 90 percent.

Lawmakers have criticized the Korean escalator industry's heavy reliance on China.

"When an escalator made with 100 components malfunctions, it should stop until the import of at least 94 components from China," said Chung Woo-taik, who was the ruling People Power Party's lawmaker at the 21st National Assembly, during a parliamentary audit last October.

"Through the domestic production of escalator components, malfunctioning and worn-out components should be replaced immediately," he added.

However, it remains to be seen whether buyers will choose high-priced Korean components.

Hyundai Elevator expressed confidence that domestic escalator firms will opt for Korean components, citing their verified quality and safety.