[2020 National Audit] Busan with Dense High-Rise Buildings... Still 37 Buildings Use Combustible Exterior Materials

The site of the high-rise residential-commercial complex fire in Ulsan that occurred on the 9th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Amid concerns over the safety of exterior materials in high-rise residential-commercial complexes following the fire in Ulsan, it has been confirmed that many buildings in Busan, where ultra-high-rise residential-commercial complexes are densely located, are still constructed with combustible exterior materials.

According to Assemblyman Jo Oh-seop of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, as of last month, there are 555 high-rise buildings (30 floors or more) in Busan. Among them, 44 buildings are ultra-high-rise with 50 floors or more, the highest number nationwide.

Assemblyman Jo explained, "Busan has 70-meter high ladder trucks, but they are 'useless' in strong winds and building winds." This is because the ladder becomes unstable and difficult to use during strong winds.

He added, "Urgent measures must be taken to replace combustible exterior materials on building walls through an investigation of combustible exterior materials in high-rise buildings."

In fact, in the recent Ulsan fire, flames climbed the exterior walls due to strong winds, causing the exterior materials to catch fire. The building was constructed with aluminum composite panels using 'polyethylene (PE),' which ignites at 240 degrees Celsius, as insulation material. Additionally, glue was used to attach the exterior materials, and as the materials burned, an air layer formed between the wall and the exterior materials, which intensified the flames. According to fire authorities, this construction method caused embers hidden inside the panels to intermittently reignite on unspecified floors, making extinguishing the fire difficult.

After the 2010 fire in a 38-floor residential-commercial complex in Haeundae-gu, Busan, related laws were amended, and from March 2012, the use of non-combustible exterior materials for high-rise building facades was mandated. However, buildings constructed before the law's enforcement are not subject to these regulations.

Jo O-seop, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Provided by Jo O-seop's Office)

According to Assemblyman Jo, among the 555 high-rise buildings in Busan, 227 buildings (40.9%) were built before the 2012 law enforcement, and 37 buildings are constructed with combustible exterior materials.

Assemblyman Jo stated, "The recent high-rise building fire in Ulsan also occurred in a building constructed in 2009, which was not subject to the revised law," adding, "Inspection of combustible exterior materials and urgent replacement with non-combustible materials by relevant government departments is desperately needed."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.