[Hong Kong Fire, South Korea’s Response] Fire Prevention Performance in Buildings Enhanced, but Blind Spots Remain

Experts have advised that in order to enhance fire prevention capabilities, it is necessary to improve the effectiveness of reinforcement work and pre-inspections for aging buildings. Although fire safety regulations in South Korea have been strengthened to exceed international standards following several fire incidents, concerns remain that even minor fires can result in significant casualties.

In particular, for older multi-use facilities, the government has been implementing a project to reinforce fire safety performance through next year, and work has been carried out on a substantial number of buildings. However, some buildings still remain outside the scope of these efforts.

According to industry sources on December 2, the direct causes of the rapid spread of the recent high-rise apartment fire in Hong Kong were the use of bamboo scaffolding and flammable materials on the exterior walls. In addition, the absence of a fire alarm and sprinklers is believed to have exacerbated the damage. The lack of temporary fire protection systems during exterior wall repairs was also cited as a contributing factor.

Reporters and residents are looking at the disaster site in front of the 'Wong Fuk Court' apartment complex in Tai Po, northern Hong Kong, where a large fire broke out. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

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The Building Act and the Firefighting Facilities Act in South Korea have established comprehensive regulations to prepare for fire incidents. Major construction companies have further strengthened these standards and apply them on-site. For example, the Building Act specifies that finishing materials used on buildings with three or more floors or a height of 9 meters or more must be non-combustible. Daewoo Engineering & Construction, which has extensive experience in apartment construction, applies semi-noncombustible PF boards to structures such as pilotis, security offices, and senior centers, even if they are standalone buildings with fewer than three floors.

Sprinklers are installed according to the location: early-response types for individual households and facilities for the elderly and infirm, and dry systems for underground parking lots. Fire alarm systems such as automatic fire detectors, evacuation guidance lights, and emergency lighting are also installed. In addition, internal standards require the installation of facilities to assist firefighting, evacuation spaces, fire doors, and emergency power systems in the event of a fire.

Jung Seungsoo, Director of the Building Safety Division at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, explained, "Out of approximately 2,400 buildings with more than 30 floors, 2,100 were constructed after the relevant legal standards were strengthened, and about 200 were built before the standards but still meet a certain level of fire resistance and firefighting equipment requirements. For high-rise buildings, there is a tendency to consider the overall quality of the building regardless of disaster prevention regulations."

An apartment in Mandeok-dong, Buk-gu, Busan, where a fire occurred last July. Photo by Yonhap News

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The issue is that buildings constructed in the past with insufficient fire resistance still remain. To address this, the government launched a project in 2020 to reinforce the fire safety performance of existing buildings. The targeted buildings at the time were those with three or more floors, including medical facilities, facilities for the elderly and infirm, youth training centers, guesthouses, and postpartum care centers, among multi-use establishments that either used flammable exterior materials or lacked sprinklers-a total of 1,978 buildings.

This project, scheduled to run temporarily through next year, had completed reinforcement work on 1,683 buildings as of the end of September this year. Work is ongoing for 191 buildings, and the remaining 104 have yet to apply. Kim Heungyeol, Senior Researcher at the Fire Safety Research Division of the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, explained, "Although the government and local authorities provide financial support for reinforcement, building owners must first apply. However, some hesitate due to cost burdens, or are unable to apply because of complicated ownership structures, so supplementary measures are needed."

Fire inspections, depending on the size and use of the building, are mainly focused on firefighting equipment. Industry experts point out that it is also necessary to check whether non-combustible materials, as required by the Building Act, have been used. The lack of fire resistance standards for scaffolding or nets during exterior wall remodeling, and the limitations of existing systems when external flames re-enter the interior, are urgent issues that need to be addressed. Director Jung stated, "It is essential to thoroughly manage the existing fire prevention management system, and at the same time, establish effective evacuation and response training to minimize damage in the event of a fire."

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