Fear of sudden North Korean attack grows... Sudden inspection of domestic shelters reveals findings

South Korea, Similar to Israel
Surprise Inspection of Shelters Reveals 'Chaos'

As war breaks out following a surprise attack by Palestine, the powder keg of the Middle East, thousands of missile bombardment scenes have been updated in real time on social networking services (SNS). Citizens are expressing concerns that a similar situation could unfold domestically.

South Korea and Israel are considered to have high similarities in terms of having war experience and facing geopolitical risks. They also share the commonality that defense spending accounts for a large portion of their total budgets due to potential threats from hostile countries. Last year, Israel's defense expenditure was $23.4 billion (approximately 32 trillion won), ranking 15th worldwide, while South Korea's was $46 billion (approximately 62 trillion won), ranking 9th globally.

A shelter with items piled up and a fire extinguisher not placed in its proper position.
Photo by Maeil Business Newspaper

If North Korea wages war against South Korea, it has a strategy to shower the Seoul metropolitan area with a "rain of shells" using long-range artillery and multiple rocket launchers concentrated at the front lines. Military authorities have assessed that North Korea has the capability to fire more than 10,000 long-range artillery shells per hour toward the metropolitan area.

In the event of air raids such as missile launches or bombings, people must take shelter deep underground. According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's civil defense alert guidelines for public action, if it is difficult to identify a designated evacuation site, it is recommended to move to nearby subway stations, underground parking lots, or basements of large buildings.

In addition, evacuation shelters for emergencies have been prepared, but improvements are urgently needed. On the 9th, Maeil Business Newspaper conducted an emergency inspection of an underground evacuation shelter in an office building located in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, listed on the National Disaster Safety Portal, and found that no civil defense supplies were available and fire extinguishers were not in their proper places.

Furthermore, in areas marked as no storage zones for fire escape routes, lumber materials were piled up, obstructing smooth passage. Although the Ministry of the Interior and Safety has advised that braille markings should be attached in shelters for the visually impaired, none of the shelters were equipped with them.

The military considered introducing Israel's Iron Dome as a defense measure against long-range artillery, but judged it insufficient to block long-range artillery, which performs better than short-range rocket launchers.

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