Extension of Large Building Fire Safety Budget Support for 3 More Years

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] The government has decided to extend the "Existing Building Fire Safety Performance Reinforcement Project," implemented to strengthen fire safety in large buildings, for three more years. This project primarily involves the national or local governments supporting the costs of enhancing fire safety in facilities with potential for large-scale casualties, such as hospitals, following the Jecheon complex building fire and the Miryang Sejong Hospital fire.

On the 16th, Yoo Kyung-jun, a member of the People Power Party, announced that he will soon propose the "Partial Amendment to the Building Management Act," which aims to extend the support period for fire safety performance reinforcement costs by three years.

The amendment is also said to have been influenced by a request from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The large building fire safety reinforcement project was implemented in May 2020 and is set to expire at the end of this year. Although related industries have demanded an extension, citing ongoing insufficiencies, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport had not clearly stated its position until now. Yoo’s bill indirectly confirms the government’s stance.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the amendment, fire safety reinforcement in large facilities has only reached about 30%. Due to COVID-19, operating conditions have worsened for daycare centers and academies because of restricted business hours, and hospitals have also faced difficulties starting construction due to their designation as COVID-19 dedicated hospitals. As a result, among 2,561 private buildings nationwide that were mandated to reinforce fire safety performance from 2020 until the end of July, only 786 buildings (30.7%) have completed construction or received subsidy payments. Among the remaining buildings, 810 have not even submitted applications for the reinforcement project.

Moreover, there is a penalty provision that imposes up to one year imprisonment or a fine of up to 10 million won on building managers who fail to implement the performance reinforcement project. Concerns have been raised that if the support period is not extended, many innocent offenders could be produced.

Yoo said, "While it is necessary to improve the safety performance of buildings with a high risk of large casualties in case of fire, it is still difficult to participate in the project due to COVID-19. We aim to extend the project support period and penalty deadline to protect the property rights and safety of the people."

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