Seoul City "All Demolition Sites Must Install Safety Facilities for Construction Approval"

Mandatory Construction Notification... Expansion of Demolition Review Scope

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] From now on, all demolition sites within Seoul city must install safety facilities such as temporary fences in order to receive construction start approval. To this end, construction start reporting will be mandatory for all demolition sites.

Seoul City announced the "Five Major Safety Management Strengthening Measures for Demolition Sites" on the 8th. The city first made construction start reporting mandatory for all demolition sites to strengthen the responsibility of contractors.

Previously, under the Building Management Act, contractors only needed to obtain demolition permits and did not have to submit separate construction start reports. However, going forward, they must install safety facilities, complete safety inspections by supervisors, and obtain construction start approval from the district office.

For demolition sites adjacent to public facilities such as bus stops and school routes, safety management plans must be included in the demolition plan submitted for demolition review before construction start reporting. Seoul City plans to include this requirement in demolition permit and reporting conditions and implement it immediately.

To block illegal subcontracting, contractors must submit a list of construction technicians and management personnel performing the demolition work to the district office when reporting construction start.

The scope of demolition review has also been expanded. Currently, only buildings of five floors or more in general areas excluding maintenance zones are subject to demolition review, but in the future, buildings of four floors or more in all areas, including redevelopment and reconstruction maintenance project zones, will be subject to review.

The city plans to revise related ordinances to implement this. On-site supervision during demolition will be mandatory for all buildings subject to demolition permits. Until now, standards for designating on-site supervisors varied by building and district, causing confusion.

The timing for reporting safety inspection results during demolition to the district office will change from post-inspection to periodic reporting. Separately, Seoul City will select high-risk construction sites and conduct at least three surprise inspections during demolition.

Before the most dangerous task, dismantling the top floor framework, safety inspections will be conducted together with experts. A system for real-time monitoring of demolition site CCTV is also being established, aiming to be operational by March next year.

Seoul City plans to pursue legal amendments to allow punishment for violations of construction site safety management guidelines. Kim Seong-bo, head of the Seoul Housing and Architecture Headquarters, said, "We will strengthen safety management two- to threefold to ensure that the institutional improvements implemented so far are fully applied on site."

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