Mandatory inspections cover only buildings with a total floor area of 3,000 square meters or more

A four-story building in Buk-gu, Daegu, where a second-floor ceiling collapsed Saturday morning, injuring dozens. [Yonhap]
A four-story building in Buk-gu, Daegu, where a second-floor ceiling collapsed Saturday morning, injuring dozens. [Yonhap]

A ceiling collapse at a building in Gwan-eum-dong, Buk-gu, Daegu injured 38 elderly people Saturday, raising questions about why the 32-year-old structure was not subject to mandatory regular safety inspections.

The four-story building, completed in 1994, was the site of the collapse, which occurred at around 10:16 a.m., according to Yonhap.

The second floor, where the accident happened, had sat vacant for about one year and seven months before a retail company began leasing it this month.

At the time of the collapse, 66 elderly guests had been invited to a product sales event on the premises when ceiling finishing material suddenly fell, injuring 38 of them. Nine were taken to hospital complaining of dizziness or with minor injuries. None were reported to be in serious condition.

Fire authorities have attributed the accident to the collapse of ceiling finishing material, but said further investigation is needed to determine the exact type of structure involved.

The Buk-gu district office, which has jurisdiction over the building, said it needs to verify whether any renovation or repair work had recently been carried out on the aging structure.

Experts say small, aging buildings like the one involved are unlikely to be covered by regular safety inspections, and are calling on local governments to strengthen safety education.

Under current law — the Building Management Act and the Special Act on the Safety and Maintenance of Facilities — mandatory regular inspections apply only to large buildings with a total floor area of 3,000 square meters or more, or facilities with high public use. The building where the accident occurred has a total floor area of 892 square meters.

"It appears a collapse occurred in an aging building that had fallen into a blind spot in local government oversight," said Park Ki-beom, a professor in the department of architecture and civil engineering at Kyungil University. "Unlike fire safety inspections, which are mandatory for small multi-use facilities, there is no legal obligation for structural safety inspections."

Park added that while local governments do offer structural safety education, participation rates among small building owners remain low. "We need to define standards for aging buildings and require owners to attend training at least once every few years," he said. "Regulations must be strengthened to reduce casualties."


kimstar@heraldcorp.com