Seoul City Establishes First 'Disaster Management Plan' for Ultra-High-Rise and Underground-Connected Complex Buildings

Securing Golden Time through Proactive Safety Management of 199 Buildings

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Seoul City announced on the 29th that it has established the 'Disaster Management Plan for Super High-Rise and Underground-Connected Complex Buildings' for the first time, which comprehensively includes management directions for super high-rise buildings and underground-connected complex buildings, and will update and operate it every two years going forward.

Currently, Seoul has a total of 199 buildings, including 24 super high-rise buildings over 200m tall and 50 floors or more, such as Jamsil Lotte World Tower and Yeouido International Finance Center (IFC), and 175 underground-connected complex buildings such as Seoul Express Bus Terminal and Myeongdong Migliore. Since the number of super high-rise and underground-connected complex buildings is the highest in the country, disasters such as fires or earthquakes could escalate into large-scale complex disasters. Therefore, the city aims to secure the golden time in emergencies and proactively manage safety to protect citizens' lives and property.

As detailed tasks for the disaster management plan, first, a disaster management cooperation task force (TF) and expert consultations will be used to establish and enhance a systematic disaster response plan. The management status will be analyzed to set goals such as the direction, objectives, and key tasks of the disaster management plan and to derive tasks.

In addition, to efficiently establish and implement the disaster management plan, an annual disaster management status survey will be conducted for all super high-rise and underground-connected complex buildings in Seoul. Based on the survey results on the status of buildings, firefighting facilities and equipment, and safety inspections, the plan will be supplemented and improved.

Along with this, the committee will be systematically operated and managed to ensure that the disaster impact review and reflection conducted before the approval and permission of super high-rise buildings are effectively carried out. Experts will also strengthen the capacity for on-site inspections by educating district officials on what to check during inspections and related laws to enhance the quality of inspections and participate in joint on-site inspections to secure expertise.

Furthermore, a separate menu for super high-rise and underground-connected complex buildings will be created in Seoul City's internal 'Integrated Safety Inspection Management System,' which contains facility safety management information, to facilitate management of changes, inspection results, and status confirmations of the target buildings. Disaster and terrorism preparedness drills, which had been conducted separately by private building management entities and public institutions, will be expanded to include all stakeholders participating together, with a recommendation to conduct them at least once a year.

Han Je-hyun, Director of Seoul City's Safety General Office, said, "Through the establishment of the disaster management plan for Seoul's super high-rise and underground-connected complex buildings, we will build a cooperative response system among Seoul City, autonomous districts, related organizations, and management entities, and do our best to prevent damage to the lives and property of Seoul citizens."

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