'Tunnel Smoke Blocking Equipment' Expanded to Small Tunnels Over 250m... Safety Management Measures Implemented

Serious Accident Punishment Act? Ahead of Enforcement, Seoul City Announces Safety Measures for 37 Tunnels
Installation of Smoke Control (Auxiliary) Equipment in Small Tunnels, Gradually Expanding to 25 Locations
‘Power Supply Dualization’ to Prevent Power Outage During Blackouts, Pilot Installation at Hongjimun and Guryong Tunnels This Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Ahead of the enforcement of the Serious Accident Punishment Act, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 24th that it will implement a 'Tunnel Safety Management Plan' for 37 tunnels within Seoul and promote key measures. Since accidents can potentially lead to major disasters, the plan aims to respond swiftly to incidents such as fires and power outages and enhance safety management by increasing the predictability of accidents.

The 37 tunnels managed by Seoul are categorized as follows: 8 tunnels over 1000m (Grade 2), including Hongjimun Tunnel; 5 tunnels between 500m and less than 1000m (Grade 3), including Bukak Tunnel; and 24 tunnels under 500m (Grade 4), including Jahamun and Dongmangbong Tunnels.

The Seoul tunnel safety management plan focuses on expanding the installation of smoke control (auxiliary) equipment in small-scale tunnels, establishing a dual power system to prevent power outages, introducing radar-based 3Mix accident detection technology, and applying upgraded tunnel disaster prevention grade standards.

First, to block the spread of smoke?which is the leading cause of casualties during fires?at an early stage, smoke control (auxiliary) equipment will be installed in 12 tunnels between 250m and less than 500m, gradually expanding to a total of 25 tunnels in Seoul. Seoul plans to pilot the installation of an 'air curtain,' one type of smoke control (auxiliary) equipment, in the small-scale Dongmangbong Tunnel (total length 482m, Jongno-gu to Seongbuk-gu) and will review its effectiveness before gradually expanding the installation. To select smoke control (auxiliary) equipment suitable for tunnel characteristics, a 'Road Tunnel Evacuation Environment Improvement Project' will be conducted starting April this year. Additionally, to prevent power outages during tunnel blackouts, power-related facilities such as transformers and switchboards will be duplicated. Pilot installations will be conducted this year at Hongjimun and Guryong Tunnels, expanding to a total of 10 medium and large tunnels by 2024.

The introduction of AI-based 3Mix (radar + video + audio) accident detection technology will be expanded. This technology combines radar tracking of vehicle movements inside tunnels, audio detection of impact sounds above a certain volume, and CCTV video, with AI analyzing the data to automatically detect accidents. Seoul first introduced the 3Mix accident detection technology in 2020 at Namsan No.1 Tunnel. Compared to previous methods relying solely on CCTV, this technology improves detection accuracy, enabling faster responses to accidents. Following last year's expansion to Hongjimun and Jeongneung Tunnels, this year it will be installed in three tunnels?Wirye, Wirye Jungang, and Guryong?and two additional installations are planned in 2023, expanding coverage to all eight large tunnels over 1000m.

Tunnels deemed high-risk due to heavy vehicle concentration will have their disaster prevention grade standards upgraded to strengthen safety facilities. Five Grade 3 tunnels will be upgraded to Grade 2, and five Grade 4 tunnels over 400m will be upgraded to Grade 3. Grade 3 tunnels upgraded to Grade 2 will have six types of equipment installed: smoke control facilities, indoor fire hydrants, connecting water pipes, variable message signs (VMS), entry blocking, and automated fire detection systems. Grade 4 tunnels upgraded to Grade 3 will additionally install emergency alarms and broadcasting equipment.

Han Je-hyun, Director of Safety Management at Seoul City, stated, "Tunnels were constructed rapidly in the past to facilitate traffic amid rapid industrialization and increased traffic volume, but their enclosed nature can lead to major accidents if incidents occur. We will do our best to manage facility safety without any blind spots by applying strengthened standards such as installing smoke control equipment in small-scale tunnels."