Pilot Operation Until Year-End... Public-Private Collaboration
Inspection of 48 Sites Including Bus Stop Vicinities
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hye-min] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 15th that it will pilot operate a 'Field Inspection Team' until the end of the year, in collaboration with the Seoul Metropolitan Architects Association, where architects directly inspect the safety management status of demolition sites.
The Field Inspection Team consists of two architects from the Seoul Architects Association with extensive demolition experience, who will inspect hazardous factors and safety-related operational conditions at demolition sites. Forty-eight demolition sites adjacent to roads, crosswalks, and bus stops, where accidents could be more dangerous, are subject to inspection.
Seoul plans to support administrative measures through the autonomous districts, which hold the permit authority, if serious safety management issues are found during the field inspections.
The city's move to public-private collaboration comes from the judgment that public regulation alone has limitations, as accidents continue to occur despite improvements in systems such as mandatory construction start notifications and immediate site safety inspections following the Gwangju collapse accident.
Although the system was strengthened with the introduction of demolition permits and demolition construction supervision systems under the Building Management Act enforced last May, the city sees that safety insensitivity still exists among demolition contractors, demolition supervisors, and building owners at the site level.
In April, the city signed a business agreement with the Seoul Architects Association to stabilize the implementation of demolition permits and demolition construction supervision systems and has continuously exchanged mutual opinions. They plan to actively collaborate up to the current field inspections to prevent safety accidents at demolition sites. The Seoul Architects Association has also been operating a demolition construction supervision counseling center since June.
Kim Jae-rok, President of the Seoul Architects Association, stated, "Damage caused by accidents at demolition sites also brings great difficulties to architects who manage and supervise the construction, so self-regulatory efforts to prevent safety accidents are absolutely necessary," adding, "We will do our best in demolition supervision work to improve overall awareness of architectural safety and prevent the recurrence of safety accidents."
Kim Seong-bo, Head of the Housing and Architecture Headquarters of Seoul City, said, "Improving safety management at demolition sites is directly related to citizen safety, but there are limits to public regulation alone," and added, "We will continue to make multifaceted efforts through public-private cooperation with the Seoul Architects Association to prevent safety accidents doubly and triply."
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