By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Approximately 70 percent of wooden cultural properties are vulnerable to fire and other sorts of vandalism as no fire alarms or closed-circuit television systems (CCTV) are installed there, a lawmaker said Wednesday.
Rep. Lee Jung-hyun of the governing Grand National Party criticized the head and staff members of the Cultural Heritage Administration for their ``ill-preparedness'' for possible disasters as well as vandalism of cultural properties.
``Of the 127 cultural properties I received data from the agency on, 87 do not have fire alarms or CCTV. Nine of them are national treasurers,'' Lee said at a National Assembly committee meeting.
Three billion won was set aside for putting fire alarms in place to protect cultural properties in 2007.
The Board of Audit and Inspection, however, found in its annual inspection of government offices that the administration spent only one billion won on installing counter-measure systems, while the remaining two billion won was used for other purposes.
Several local governments requested the agency give financial assistance to back their installing of fire prevention equipment in six cultural heritage sites last year, but the authorities turned down their requests because of budgetary constraints.
``Five of them having applied for financial assistance were national treasures,'' Lee said.
The lawmaker lashed out at the agency for misuse of the assigned budget.
Preservation and maintenance of cultural properties has drawn public attention after National Treasure No. 1 Namdaemun was lost through arson committed by a 70-year old senior citizen last February.