![The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has announced proposed amendments to ease fire-compartment installation requirements for equipment pipe rooms in semiconductor factories. Shown is an SK Hynix facility. [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/07/15/news-p.v1.20260704.64e49c0590e3407aa02588b0261f04c8_P1.png)
South Korea is set to ease building code requirements governing fire compartments in semiconductor factory equipment pipe rooms.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Wednesday announced proposed amendments to the Enforcement Decree of the Building Act and the Rules on Standards for Evacuation and Fire-Protection Structures of Buildings. The changes aim to streamline floor-level fire-compartment requirements for equipment pipe rooms in semiconductor factories and establish quality certification standards for new fire-safety products.
Under the proposed amendments, semiconductor factories would be required to fire-compartmentalize their equipment pipe spaces from other areas of the building. If a factory installs sprinklers that have undergone expert review by the National Fire Agency, however, the obligation to install floor-level fire compartments would be relaxed.
Semiconductor factories frequently add or relocate equipment piping as manufacturing processes change, and each such modification has required demolishing and rebuilding the concrete floor-level fire compartments — a significant operational burden.
Once the amendments take effect, factories that install sprinklers meeting or exceeding the fire-safety performance of floor-level fire compartments will no longer be required to install those compartments. The change reflects the frequent pipe-relocation needs of semiconductor manufacturing and is expected to reduce on-site burdens while maintaining fire safety.
The amendments also expand the scope of new-product quality certification in the fire-safety sector — previously limited to fire-resistant structures — to include fire doors, fire shutters, fire-stopping structures and composite materials.
The ministry also clarified installation standards for composite fire shutters used in large open spaces such as shopping centers. Under the revised rules, facilities that install a "composite fire shutter" incorporating a built-in fire door will not be required to install a separate fire door alongside it.
"We have revised the system to rationally incorporate changes in industrial sites and new technologies into the building regulatory regime while ensuring fire safety in buildings," said Jeong Seung-su, head of the ministry's Building Safety Division.
smh@heraldcorp.com
