Seoul City and Busan Conduct 5-Week Special Safety Inspections Following Banyan Tree Construction Site Fire Disaster

Following a fire at the 'Banyan Tree Haeundae Busan' complex resort construction site that resulted in 6 deaths, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will conduct a special inspection to prevent major accidents at construction sites.

On the 17th, the city announced that it will carry out a special safety inspection for about five weeks from the 18th of this month until the 28th of next month to prevent major accidents at construction sites. The inspection will be conducted jointly with external experts in related fields such as architecture and structure.

This inspection will include a full safety check of all 312 construction sites commissioned by the city. For the 4,019 private construction sites permitted by autonomous districts, inspections will be conducted on sites currently under construction, and safety checks will be promoted together with the districts.

Additionally, among 302 large private construction sites, 5 will be randomly selected, and among 395 construction sites under city-owned corporations and public enterprises, 2 will be randomly selected for safety audits.

The main inspection items include ▲whether there are violations of regulations related to major accident types such as falls, collisions, being struck, collapses, and fires ▲compliance with citizen safety protection facilities such as barriers, fences, signalers, and construction site guide signs ▲damage to underground facilities caused by thawing season weak ground and the safety of earth-retaining structures ▲the actual implementation of safety measures for construction workers, such as wearing protective gear and installing temporary construction facilities. The inspection will focus on factors with a high risk of safety accidents.

The city will immediately order corrections for minor issues and urgent hazardous facilities, and for serious matters, measures such as work stoppage, correction orders, and administrative sanctions will be taken. Other issues will require the establishment of an implementation plan for improvement and will be continuously managed until completion.

Han Byung-yong, Director of the Seoul Disaster and Safety Office, said, "The city is promoting repeated safety inspections as well as special safety inspections during vulnerable periods to prevent various accidents that may occur at construction sites," adding, "We will maintain a public-private cooperation system and examine more closely to ensure there are no safety blind spots so that no more tragic casualties occur at construction sites."

Meanwhile, on the morning of the 14th at around 10:51 AM, a fire broke out at the Banyan Tree Haeundae Busan construction site near Orangdae Park in the Osiria Tourist Complex, Gijang-gun, Busan. Six workers died, and 27 suffered minor injuries such as smoke inhalation. The fire was extinguished at 6:53 PM on the 14th, after about eight hours.