The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said on the 16th it will conduct an emergency safety inspection for four days through the 19th on 5,481 lodging facilities in Seoul. The targets are 4,904 foreigner tourism city guesthouses, 381 hanok experience businesses, and 151 lodging facilities in Jongno District and Jung District.
The inspection follows a fire at a lodging facility in Sogong-dong, Jung District, Seoul, on the 14th. A total of 10 people were injured in the incident. Of them, three were seriously injured.
There were three lodging-related facilities in the building where the fire broke out. The fire is believed to have started at a capsule-type lodging facility on the third floor.
In response, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) will conduct a sample inspection, jointly with the National Fire Agency, local governments, and agencies such as the Korea Electrical Safety Corporation and Korea Gas Safety Corporation, of lodging facilities with a high risk of rapid fire spread, such as capsule-type accommodations.
In particular, it will carry out an emergency special fire inspection of lodging facilities in Jongno District and Jung District, where visitor congestion is expected, and all capsule-type facilities across Seoul. It plans to examine not only evacuation route readiness—such as whether fire protection systems are left unrepaired or shut off, fire doors are kept open, and items are stored on escape stairways, corridors, and passageways—but also evacuation flow and initial response systems.
In addition, as soon as the National Fire Agency releases its inspection results, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) will analyze, together with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, problems in the management system for lodging facilities and on-site fire safety operations and push for related institutional improvements.
Minister Yoon Ho-jung of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) said, "The government will carry out this emergency safety inspection swiftly and thoroughly to create a safe environment where everyone can stay with peace of mind."