97.6% of Seoul Goshiwon Equipped with Simple Sprinklers... Fire Safety Improved

Installation completed at 5,601 out of 5,741 Gosiwon... All Gosiwon must be installed by June 2022

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Simple sprinklers have been installed in 97% of gosiwon (small lodging houses) in Seoul.

On the 3rd, the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters announced that out of a total of 5,741 gosiwon operating in Seoul, 5,601 locations, or 97.6%, have completed the installation of simple sprinklers. The remaining 140 locations still require installation.

The simple sprinkler systems installed in gosiwon must be mandatorily installed by June 30, 2022, according to the "Fire Services Act" and the "Safety Management Act for Multi-use Facilities." These laws were revised in November 2018 following the tragic fire at Gukil Gosiwon in Jongno-gu.

Simple sprinklers are systems that automatically spray extinguishing water from the ceiling when a fire occurs. They are easier to install and less expensive than regular sprinklers. A fire that broke out in the early morning of the 27th of last month at a gosiwon in Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu was extinguished without any casualties thanks to the activation of the simple sprinkler installed inside.

Since August 2019, the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters has been continuously promoting a support project for the installation of simple sprinkler systems to prevent casualties caused by gosiwon fires.

The total budget for the installation support project is 8.048 billion KRW, of which 72.8%, or 5.86187 billion KRW, had been spent as of April 26. The support targets are gosiwon that received business permits before July 6, 2009, and the support amount is calculated differently depending on the size of the business. Out of a total of 750 eligible locations, 610 locations (81.3%) have completed installation.

Choi Tae-young, head of the Fire and Disaster Headquarters, said, "The effectiveness of simple sprinklers in preventing casualties during gosiwon fires has been proven," and added, "We ask for the active cooperation of gosiwon stakeholders to protect the most important lives."

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