Finance ministry unveils plan to overhaul factory fire safety

The finance ministry announced Friday a comprehensive strategy to upgrade fire safety across South Korea's manufacturing sector. Deputy Prime Minister Koo Yun-cheol presided over the interagency meeting that produced the measures, which respond to a string of recent factory fires causing significant casualties.

Officials diagnosed the disasters as the result of accumulated structural problems, including inadequate safety standards and sluggish investment during periods of rapid industrial growth.

A cornerstone of the plan is a massive joint inspection of more than 190,000 factories and warehouses nationwide scheduled to run from September 2026 through December 2027. The survey will target facilities with floor areas exceeding 500 square meters as well as hazardous material storage sites, utilizing both public officials and private experts.

Regulatory standards will be raised to match advanced economies, requiring non-combustible exterior materials for facilities handling dangerous substances by the end of 2026. The government also plans to mandate intelligent fire detectors and expand sprinkler requirements to all floors in factories larger than 5,000 square meters.

Seoul will launch a new subsidy and loan package worth 200 billion won over five years to help small and mid-sized firms purchase prevention equipment. A separate credit program totaling 1.25 trillion won will finance safety investments, while policy lenders stand ready to supply an additional 3 trillion won in rapid funding.

Tax incentives will accompany the financial aid, with the state designating advanced safety technologies using AI and robotics as strategic growth sectors eligible for expanded credits. Small businesses investing in safety facilities will benefit from accelerated depreciation rules that halve the standard useful life of assets for tax purposes.

Enforcement mechanisms will tighten, making repeated fines mandatory for compliance failures. The reward system for whistleblowers will expand significantly starting in 2027, offering up to 2 million won per report and allowing informants to receive up to 30 percent of any penalties collected.