Yongsan-gu to Conduct Safety Inspections of Aging Buildings Until Year-End

Among Buildings Over 30 Years Old After Approval, Ranked by Deterioration... On-Site Inspections at 672 Locations Including Single-Family and Multi-Family Houses... Secondary Inspections for Hazardous Buildings... Designation and Management as 'Type 3 Facilities' if Necessary

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Yongsan-gu (Mayor Seong Jang-hyun) will conduct safety inspections on 672 small-scale aging buildings (detached and multi-family houses, etc.) by the end of the year to protect the lives and property of residents.

The inspection targets buildings that have been approved for use for more than 30 years.

The district selected 648 inspection targets ex officio, considering the aging condition of masonry and wooden buildings vulnerable to disasters. In addition, a ‘visiting safety inspection’ will be conducted for 24 aging buildings requested by residents.

The inspection will be conducted visually according to the ‘Seoul Small-scale Aging Building Safety Inspection Checklist.’ Responsible public officials, architects, and structural engineers will visit the sites.

After the inspection, each building will be assigned one of five grades: ▲Excellent (safety secured) ▲Good (minor defects) ▲Average (no safety issues but repair and reinforcement needed) ▲Insufficient (urgent repair and reinforcement needed) ▲Poor (consideration of use restriction or prohibition).

A second inspection will be conducted for buildings found to be insufficient or poor in the first inspection. If necessary, they will be designated and managed as ‘Type 3 facilities’ under the Special Act on Safety and Maintenance of Facilities (City Special Act).

Thereafter, the district will notify the owners of vulnerable facilities of the inspection results to ensure continuous management. If necessary, emergency safety measures such as detailed safety diagnosis, use restriction, prohibition, demolition, evacuation orders, risk zone designation, and forced evacuation can also be implemented.

Last year, the district also conducted safety inspections on 1,872 small-scale aging buildings. Among them, 9 buildings were found to be in poor condition and users were guided to carry out repair and reinforcement measures.

Additionally, by the end of the year, safety inspections will continue on 127 small-scale aging buildings in the district’s redevelopment promotion zones (74 sites) and urban maintenance-type redevelopment zones (53 sites).

Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, “We will thoroughly inspect aging buildings on site until December to protect the safety of Yongsan residents,” adding, “We expect this to greatly help alleviate residents’ concerns about safety accidents such as building collapses.”

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