Crackdown on Fire Safety Violations... 163 Cases Booked, 345 Fines Issued

The National Fire Agency announced the results of the nationwide crackdown on fire-related offenses in the first half of this year to eradicate violations of fire-related laws and establish fire law and order.

The National Fire Agency revealed on the 19th that from March to the end of May, it conducted surprise inspections on 5,427 locations nationwide for violations of fire laws, resulting in 2,158 cases being booked (referred) and fines or other measures taken against 1,026 locations found in violation. This represents a 29.2% (631 cases) increase compared to the 1,527 fire-related law violation cases handled in the second half of last year.

The nationwide crackdown on fire-related offenses in the first half of this year was broadly divided into common areas and autonomous areas. In the common areas, ▲fire facility construction focused on violations such as breaches of contracting and subcontracting rules, participation of unregistered companies in sales and installation of unapproved fire equipment, lack of technical personnel deployment, and certificate lending. ▲In the operation of hazardous material manufacturing plants and similar facilities, inspections targeted storage, handling, and manufacturing beyond designated quantities outside permitted locations such as large construction sites, and violations of approval for changes in location, structure, or equipment of manufacturing plants. The autonomous areas involved each of the 18 city and provincial fire headquarters selecting at least one inspection theme reflecting the characteristics of local fire-related facilities.

The detailed enforcement actions for violations were 163 cases referred (booked), 345 fines, 1,254 correction orders, 36 administrative dispositions, 37 cases notified to other agencies, and 323 on-site corrections.

Analysis of the 163 booked cases showed that violations of the Fire Facility Construction Act were the most frequent at 75 cases (46%), followed by the Hazardous Materials Safety Control Act (61 cases), and the Fire Facilities Installation and Safety Management Act (27 cases).

Regarding the 345 fines imposed, violations of the Fire Facilities Installation and Safety Management Act were the most common at 147 cases, followed by the Fire Facility Construction Act (75 cases), the Hazardous Materials Safety Control Act (65 cases), city and provincial ordinances (56 cases), and the Special Act on Safety Management of Multi-use Facilities (2 cases).

In addition, the 18 city and provincial fire headquarters nationwide establish their own annual plans to conduct crackdowns on fire-related offenses, eradicating illegal activities through customized intensive inspections reflecting the characteristics of local fire-related facilities.

Kim Jo-il, Director of the 119 Response Bureau at the National Fire Agency, stated, “Acts such as illegally handling hazardous materials or blocking fire facilities can lead to large-scale casualties, so we will raise awareness through surprise inspections and handle violations strictly. We urge all field personnel to strictly comply with fire-related laws for the safety of the public.”

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