When an old building collapses, the disregard of safety is often considered as the main culprit. Small old buildings, in particular, are often neglected from regular safety inspections as it is not legally mandatory.

In this regard, Gangdong-gu (head: Lee Soo-hee) plans to conduct safety inspections on small old buildings in order to prevent the potential risk of collapse as they are in the dangers of blind spots.

The targets of the safety inspections include 504 private buildings that are built over 30 years ago, of which height is 5th floor or lower with the total floor area of less than 660㎡ as stated in the Construction Management Ordinance of Gangdong-gu. The safety inspection will be carried out from Aug. 22 to Sep. 30.

The inspection will be conducted in 2 stages. First, professional architects will visit the building to conduct a visual inspection to determine the safety level among the 5 levels under the “Safety Inspection Standards of Seoul Metropolitan Government for Small Old Buildings.” The second inspection will be carried out against those that are rated as poor and insufficient.

In the second inspection, the inspection team with members appointed by the construction management and inspection authority will visit the building, check the structure, fire-resistant and energy efficiency performance, etc. according to the “Construction Management and Inspection Guidelines” and “Inspection Manuals on Small Old Buildings, Etc.” and submit the report.