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Interview with Sang-Hoon Oh, Chairman of the Korea Seismic Isolation and Vibration Control Association

 

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[Daehan Kyungjae = Reporter Kim Min-soo] “In areas with moderate to weak earthquakes like ours, the possibility of secondary damage due to the detachment of non-structural materials such as ceilings and finishing materials is greater than the possibility of the entire structure collapsing. However, important buildings in our country are designed to be earthquake-resistant, and there are almost no isolation devices that can prevent secondary damage. It is urgent to apply isolation to protect non-structural materials.”

 

Oh Sang-hoon, Chairman of the Korea Seismic Isolation and Control Association (Professor of Architectural Engineering at Pusan ​​National University), emphasized the necessity of seismic isolation for important buildings.

 

The Korea Seismic Isolation and Control Association is a professional organization in the field of seismic isolation and control technology, and was founded in September 2004. The association performs various roles such as development and distribution of advanced seismic isolation and control technology components, research related to systems and policies, and training and education of related professional technical personnel. The current number of member companies is approximately 20.

 

Chairman Oh suggested that since converting existing earthquake-resistant buildings to seismic isolation is expensive, it is necessary to consider seismic isolation devices centered on new or important buildings.

 

Chairman Oh said, “In order to increase the seismic rate of private buildings, which is currently less than 20%, to 30%, hundreds of trillions of won are needed,” and suggested, “Instead of spending astronomical amounts of money to forcefully increase the seismic design rate of all buildings, selective seismic isolation design for key facilities such as regional hospitals, fire stations, local government disaster control towers, communication facilities, and important public buildings, as well as movie theaters and complex facilities where many people gather, is a cost-effective method.”

 

He added, “Seismic isolation is about 10% more expensive in initial cost than seismic isolation, but considering safety and overall post-earthquake recovery costs, the life cycle cost (LCC) is lower.” He added, “If the use of seismic isolation devices increases, we can lower costs by establishing a mass production system for the devices.”

 

He also emphasized the need for legislation on the application of seismic isolation technology, as is done overseas. Chairman Oh said, “Japan has applied seismic isolation to most buildings and structures since the Kobe earthquake in 1995, and Turkey is applying seismic isolation to general hospitals with more than 100 beds,” and added, “During the large-scale earthquake that occurred in Turkey last year, medical activities continued in buildings designed for seismic isolation, so we realized the need for seismic isolation.”

 

He evaluated Korea’s seismic isolation device technology as being comparable to that of foreign countries.

 

Chairman Oh said, “Although there are few cases of application, the performance and design technology of seismic isolation devices are on par with those of foreign countries,” and added, “In particular, seismic isolation device technology for architecture requires a higher level than civil engineering, and in Korea, Unison HKR is the representative company that satisfies this standard.”​