Mandatory Installation of 'Civil Defense Alert Devices' in Multi-Use Facilities Such as Airports and Movie Theaters

by Lim Chulyoung

Published 22 Jun.2021 12:19(KST)

Installed in 2,898 Multi-Use Facilities Nationwide... Resolving Alarm Delays and Blind Spots

Mandatory Installation of 'Civil Defense Alert Devices' in Multi-Use Facilities Such as Airports and Movie Theaters

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] From now on, ‘Civil Defense Warning Terminal Equipment’ must be installed in transportation facilities such as airports and terminals, as well as large-scale multi-use facilities like large supermarkets and department stores. The management entities of 2,898 multi-use facilities nationwide, designated as mandatory installation targets, must equip warning terminal devices capable of automatically transmitting civil defense warnings within the buildings.

On the 22nd, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that the Civil Defense Basic Act containing these provisions will be enforced starting from the 23rd. Although a provision was newly established through the 2016 amendment of the Civil Defense Basic Act to enable multi-use facility building managers to promptly transmit warnings, issues such as delays in warning transmission have been pointed out.

Accordingly, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety explained that to resolve problems such as warning transmission delays and the occurrence of warning blind spots, the installation of warning terminal equipment in multi-use facilities has been made mandatory, and a legal basis for the certification of such warning terminal equipment has been newly established.

With the enforcement of the Civil Defense Basic Act this time, the targets required to install ‘Civil Defense Warning Terminal Equipment’ include transportation facilities, large-scale stores, and multiplex cinemas. Transportation facilities include passenger car terminals, railway stations and station facilities, air passenger facilities and cargo handling facilities, and port passenger facilities. Large-scale stores apply to those with a standard area of 3,000㎡ or more, such as large supermarkets, department stores, and complex shopping malls. In addition, multiplex cinemas with seven or more screening rooms must also install civil defense warning terminal equipment.

The Civil Defense Basic Act also includes provisions on the ‘Certification System for Warning Terminal Equipment’ to ensure the reliability of the warning terminal devices. The ‘Certification System’ is a system where the Ministry of the Interior and Safety sets the standards that warning terminal equipment must meet, and certification bodies review and certify them. Equipment manufacturers must obtain certification through certification bodies, and building managers must install certified products.

Jeon Hae-cheol, Minister of the Interior and Safety, said, “Through this system improvement, warning transmissions at facilities used by many citizens, such as large supermarkets and cinemas, can be carried out more quickly and accurately in national emergencies,” and added, “We will carefully oversee this to uphold the highest priority value of public safety.”