Oh Se-hoon: "All sites filled with distrust due to poor construction... Video recording is essential"

Inspection of Redevelopment Construction Site in Imun 3 District

"I used to think that poor construction only happened 30 to 40 years ago, but with cases like 'Sunsal Zai' and 'Tongpyeo Castle,' all construction sites have become objects of distrust. After the side effects of poor construction appear, I believe the only way to identify what kind of defects occurred and who is responsible is through video footage."

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is visiting the housing redevelopment construction site of Imun 3 District on the 19th and receiving an explanation from the site manager.
[Photo by Seoul City]

On the 19th, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon made these remarks while inspecting the construction site of the 'Imun 3 District Housing Redevelopment Project' in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul. Imun 3 District is a complex currently being constructed by a consortium of HDC Hyundai Development Company and GS Construction. The site applies a special 'transfer structure,' which differs from typical building structures, requiring meticulous construction management due to the differing upper and lower floor structures.

On this day, Mayor Oh proposed recording all processes, including private construction sites, on video as a method to restore trust. He explained, "This means not only securing the results of the construction process but also the procedural importance, so that even without separate inspections afterward, if everything was done according to the design, we can assure consumers that safety is 100% guaranteed."

He added, "In principle, all processes should be recorded on video and preserved by the construction company, the supervision company, and the local government authorities who have the power to guide and supervise, to ensure that all construction on site is carried out according to the design. This way, even if poor construction is suspected at any time, there will be a system capable of 100% proof."

Currently, private construction sites are only required to record videos for buildings of a certain scale, such as multi-use buildings (over 5,000㎡ and 16 floors or more), according to Article 24 (Building Construction), Articles 18-2 and 19 of the Building Act, and detailed supervision standards for building construction (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport notifications), making the requirement limited. The scope of filming is also restricted, for example, to every five floors above ground when slab reinforcement is completed (or when foundation reinforcement placement is completed).

Mayor Oh pointed out, "Since concrete is covered after pouring, there is no way to check it except by X-ray unless it is torn apart. Buildings under 5,000㎡ or less than 16 floors are not subject to video recording, so poor record management occurs."

He continued, "Since the law cannot enforce this immediately, Seoul City is expressing its will and urging through this occasion so that the construction companies can take visible action in the form of voluntary self-purification. Seoul City has already been implementing video recording for one year, gaining know-how through trial and error. We hope all construction companies will respond positively to this proposal."

Meanwhile, since July last year, the city has been the first in the country to record and manage major construction processes on video to prevent safety and quality-related accidents at construction sites. Along with the 74 public construction sites currently recording videos with budgets over 10 billion KRW, the city plans to expand video recording and management to public construction projects under 10 billion KRW and private construction sites starting next year.

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