Gov’t Draws Criticism for Fire in Own Building
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
The government was criticized for ill management of its facilities Thursday after its complex in downtown Seoul was caught fire in the early morning.
It has been only 10 days since Namdaemun Gate burned down due to arson, and the fire at another government property invited further public criticism.
Around 0:20 a.m., a fire started on the 5th floor in rooms 503 and 504, burning computers, office supplies and classified documents. The police and fire department suspect the overuse of electronic equipment caused an electrical fault leading to the fire. No injuries were reported.
The Ministry of Unification staff, who were using the floor, had to use the cafeteria and other places to work on Thursday morning. The government vowed a swift recovery, but the 4th and 5th floor were blocked off for the day as water used to put out the fire was removed.
All electricity was cut (to avert the possibility of further faults, causing confusion. Workers were busy all day drying out office goods and sorting out burnt papers.
People watching the fire on TV showed anxiety. ``It reminds me of the 90's when Sampoong Department Store and Seongsu Bridge fell down. This chain of fires is a real disaster,'' a citizen said.
Experts said the building is a fire risk as it is more than 30 years old and has no precautions against fire. The ministry suffered a similar fire back in 1999 in which documents on South Koreans' family members in North Korea were destroyed.
The building has remained without a sprinkler system due to budget constraints. Also, the fire alarm system was turned off, simply because it broke down too often and caused false alarms, a Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs official said.
Top government officials gathered early Thursday morning to set up measures but have yet to come up with any specific ideas. The building is insured for up to 94.7 billion won in case of emergency.