(1) Reasons for Proposal

This amendment aims to rapidly regulate new high-risk businesses by assessing them to provide a basis for institutional improvement*, such as deregulation of low-risk businesses or business establishments to balance between the interests of business owners and public safety through the rationalization of regulations for publicly used establishments in consideration of changes in the building/business environment, the number of fires, etc.

* Since the enactment of the Act (2006), there has been no case of being designated as a publicly used establishment and then such designation being revoked.

As major provisions, this amendment aims that a publicly used business can be designated or excluded based on the results of a fire risk assessment and to improve/complement a number of weaknesses that have emerged from the operation of the current system, such as the imposition of an administrative fine in the case where a regular inspection (once per quarter) conducted by a business owner to prevent falling accidents at emergency exit balconies is not performed properly.

(2) Major Provisions

A. Redefine the definition of fire risk assessment (Article 2 (1) 4) 

- Require that the possibility of fire occurrence, etc., be analyzed through a fire risk assessment in the case of designating or excluding a publicly used business or setting standards for the installation of safety facilities, etc.

B. Add “Mayor of the Special Self-governing City” to the scope of “Mayor/Do Governor” (Article 5 (4)) 

C. Provide a basis for applying different premium rates for fire liability insurance coverage according to a fire risk assessment (Article 13-2 (3) and (4)) 

D. Improve the fire risk assessment system (Article 15) 

1) Allow that a fire risk assessment* be performed in the case of designating or excluding a publicly used business or setting standards for the installation of safety facilities, etc. (Article 15 (1)).

* (Current) Areas or buildings where business establishments for public use are closely concentrated → (Revised) In any of the following cases ((1) Exclusion from publicly used business, (2) Reinforcement of installation standards for safety facilities, etc., (3) Designation of new types of business as publicly used business, (4) Fire prevention and safety management)

2) Exclude the designation of publicly used business or partly exempt the installation of safety facilities for an existing publicly used business whose fire risk assessment results are judged to be safer than the standard (Article 15 (2)).

3) Incorporate a new type of business whose fire risk assessment result is judged to be less than the standard into publicly used businesses (Article 15 (3)).

4) Exempt the fire-fighting safety education and the special inspection on fire prevention for a certain period for a place of business that is judged safer than the standard through a fire risk assessment to strengthen the autonomous safety management system by business owners (Article 15 (4)).

E. Provide a basis for official commendations to those establishments demonstrating exemplary safety management (Article 21 (1)) 

F. Strengthen the regular inspection performed by owners of the publicly used business (Article 25 (1) 6) 

- There is a penalty provision for failure to maintain inspection records of regular inspections conducted quarterly by owners of the publicly used business, but this amendment provides a new punishment provision for those who do not conduct inspections or make false inspection records.

* (Current) Impose an administrative fine for failure to maintain inspection records → (Adding) Impose an administrative fine of up to five million won on those who do not conduct inspections or make false inspection records