Mandatory Installation of Ventilation Systems in Apartment Complexes with 30 or More Households Starting Soon

The area around Dongjak Bridge in Seoul appears hazy on a day when the ultrafine dust concentration reached a 'bad' level.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 8th that starting from the 9th, the scope of ventilation system installation will be expanded to include multi-family housing with 30 or more households and private elderly care facilities, and the performance of ventilation system filters will be strengthened, as part of the revised and enforced "Regulations on Equipment Standards for Buildings."

The core of this revision is the expansion of the ventilation system installation targets. Previously, the installation of ventilation systems was mandatory only for multi-family housing with 100 or more households and mixed-use residential-commercial buildings, but from now on, it will be mandatory for buildings with 30 or more households as well.

Along with this, due to the strengthened indoor fine dust standards by the Ministry of Environment since July last year under the "Indoor Air Quality Control Act," the obligation to install ventilation systems will be extended to multi-use facilities that previously had no such requirement, including private elderly care facilities (over 1000㎡), children's play facilities (over 430㎡), and movie theaters (under 300㎡).

The performance standards for ventilation systems will also be enhanced. Currently, the air filter performance standard for mechanical ventilation systems with a fine dust (particle size 0.3㎛ or less) capture rate of 40% will be strengthened by 1.5 times to 60%, and the fine dust (6.6～8.6㎛ or less) capture rate standard will increase from 60% to 70%, a 1.2 times improvement.

Additionally, for multi-use facilities such as airport terminals, railway waiting rooms, movie theaters, and libraries, where clear standards were previously lacking, quantified air filter performance standards based on the Korean Industrial Standards (KS) testing methods, identical to those for ventilation systems in multi-family housing, have been introduced.

Kim Sang-moon, Director of Building Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated, "This will reduce indoor air pollution caused by the inflow of outdoor fine dust, alleviating public concerns about fine dust," and added, "We plan to continuously strive to create a safe living environment free from fine dust."