Eight out of 10 South Korean buildings fragile to earthquakes: report

SEOUL, March 13 (Yonhap) -- Over 80 percent of South Korea's buildings remain vulnerable to earthquakes because they were not constructed following seismic design codes, a report by the state disaster agency said Sunday. The report comes as concerns grow that the country may no longer be free from quakes as an 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit neighboring Japan on Friday, sending a high tsunami that ripped through towns and cities across its northeastern coast. Japanese media estimate that at least 1,300 people were killed. Under current law, buildings or structures taller than three stories with floor space of more than 1,000 square meters are required to follow seismic designs to better withstand strong tremors. Out of 1.7 million buildings nationwide subject to the safety code, 81.6 percent were not constructed with quake-proof designs as of last September, according to the National Emergency Management Agency. The figure is the same as the one recorded in 2008 when the South Korean government vowed to take measures to protect buildings from strong quakes in the wake of the devastating earthquake in China's Sichuan Province that year. Although the government promised to increase the percentage of earthquake-proof schools in particular from 13.2 percent to 18.7 percent by 2014, there has been no improvement since then, the report showed. By contrast, most public facilities, such as airports (91.7 percent), hospitals (89.7 percent) and railways (77.6 percent) were designed to withstand earthquakes reaching up to 6.5 in magnitude, it noted. "As disasters can take place without any notice as shown in the case of Japan's strong earthquake, we have no other option but to fully prepare in advance," said Park Young-ah, a lawmaker of Grand National Party, who disclosed the report. "From now on, the government should secure related budgets and prepare earthquake-proof policies for major facilities." South Korea sits on the Eurasian tectonic plate and has no major fault lines running under the country.