S. Korea pushes to tighten anti-quake regulations

By Shim Sun-ah
SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Yonhap) -- The government said Monday it plans to tighten
regulations so all new buildings will be designed to be quake-resistant, as South
Korea appears vulnerable to possible earthquake threats.

The plan was unveiled in a government meeting to discuss measures to cope with
possible earthquakes, the National Emergency Management Agency said.
The government will soon revise laws to require even one and two-story buildings
to be constructed in a quake-resistant way and give private owners of existing
buildings tax incentives if the buildings are remodeled for quake resistance, the
anti-disaster agency said.
Under the construction law introduced in 1988, all buildings of three stories or
higher, or buildings whose sizes exceed 1,000 square meters, are required to be
resistant to earthquakes of magnitude 5.0 or stronger.
The standards vary depending on the type and location of a building. Under the
law, major public structures such as airports, railways and nuclear power plants
have to be able to withstand at least a 9.0-magnitude quake, but smaller
buildings or buildings constructed before 1988 were not required to have
quake-resistant designs, making them vulnerable to possible earthquakes.
However, low buildings were found to be as vulnerable as higher buildings when a
7.2-magnitude earthquake destroyed Japan's Kobe in 1995, the agency said. About
46,000, or 94 percent, of the 49,000 buildings destroyed in the quake were
buildings that were three stories or lower, it added.
Seoul will also set up quake-resistance standards for hospitals and entertainment
facilities that currently have no such standards, as well as add prisons to the
list of buildings subject to quake-resistant designs as early as possible.
School buildings will be required to be resistant to stronger quakes than normal
buildings, the agency said.
"The government decided to push for a comprehensive measure to deal with
earthquakes amid concerns the country is no longer safe from the disaster, as a
record-high 60 quakes were detected last year," Park Yeon-soo, chief of the
anti-disaster body, said. The record is far above the 10-year average of 42, he
added, quoting tallies by the Korea Meteorological Administration.
sshim@yna.co.kr
(END)

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