Hong Kong fire raises alarms over Korea’s high-rise safety measures

Fire trucks battle flames near the high-rise apartment complex Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, Hong Kong, Thursday. Yonhap

The deadly blaze that engulfed a densely populated Hong Kong apartment complex has prompted scrutiny in Korea over whether its high-rise residential and commercial buildings are adequately prepared to prevent and respond to similar disasters.

High-rise apartment living in Korea has skyrocketed in the past decade. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the number of buildings with 25 or more floors climbed from 8,268 in 2013 to 21,033 in 2023.

Of Korea’s 11.67 million apartment households in 2023, roughly three out of four — 8.96 million — were on the 15th floor or higher.

Apartment fires continue to occur at a steady rate each year. According to the National Fire Agency, 2,592 apartment fires were reported from January through October this year, leaving 37 people dead and 338 injured, marking the highest casualty toll in five years. Last year, 3,193 apartment fires nationwide resulted in 28 deaths and 335 injuries.

A fire broke out at Wooshin Golden Suite, a high-rise residential building in Haeundae District, Busan, Oct. 1, 2010. Yonhap

Major fires have also repeatedly occurred in high-rise buildings.

In March, a fire broke out at a hotel in the LCT Landmark Tower in Busan’s Haeundae District. While no major casualties were reported, residents were evacuated and the blaze was extinguished in about 13 minutes.

In October 2020, a fire at a residential-commercial complex in Ulsan caused an estimated 10.6 billion won ($7.2 million) in property damage. Strong winds quickly carried flames up the exterior of the 33-story building, rapidly intensifying the disaster.

One of the most dramatic apartment fires occurred in October 2010 in Haeundae, Busan, at the Wooshin Golden Suites, a residential studio complex. The fire, which began on the fourth floor, quickly raced up to the 38th floor. The building’s exterior panels fueled the vertical spread, while fire crews struggled to contain the blaze, limited by ladder trucks that could reach only as high as the 16th floor.

City officials and safety experts conduct a structural safety inspection at a fire-damaged residential-commercial complex in Nam-gu, Ulsan, Oct. 12, 2020. Newsis

In Korea, ultrahigh-rise buildings are required to include designated fire evacuation features, such as refuge floors, to help minimize casualties during emergencies.

Buildings with 50 or more floors are required to install at least one refuge floor every 30 stories. When evacuation to the outside is not possible during a fire or earthquake, residents can shelter in the area until rescue teams arrive. These refuge floors are fitted with drinking water, smoke-exhaust systems and emergency communication equipment.

The National Fire Agency is also pushing apartment-specific evacuation guidelines under their revised fire safety manual released at the end of 2023.

Despite these new fire safety standards, the real concern lies with older apartment complexes built before those rules came into force. Because fire regulations are not applied retroactively, aging buildings — especially those without sprinkler systems — remain highly vulnerable.

As of July, 24,401 out of the nation’s 49,810 apartment complexes — nearly 49 percent — had no sprinklers installed. Among them, 6,147 lacked sprinklers on every floor, while 5,855 had no sprinklers below the 15th floor.

Sprinklers became mandatory on every floor of buildings six stories or taller in 2018, but many older complexes — especially those built before 1990 and under 15 floors — still lack adequate coverage.

In addition, many buildings still use combustible exterior cladding.

“Even with a longer compliance period, retroactively requiring sprinklers and noncombustible exterior materials would be a better approach,” said Kong Ha-sung, a professor in the Department of Fire and Disaster Prevention at Woosuk University.

He noted that ultrahigh-rise buildings face another challenge: Water from fire trucks often cannot reach the upper levels above 30th floor.

“As far as I know, inspections are done at least once a year, but they mostly check whether the pump turns on,” Kong said. “They rarely test if water actually comes out of the sprinkler heads. That should be part of a proper inspection.”