■ Facilitator: Anchor Kim Yeong-soo, Anchor Um Ji-min
■ Appearance: Hong Tae-kyung, Professor of Earth System Science at Yonsei University
* The text below may differ from the actual content of the broadcast, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. quote [YTN 더뉴스] Please specify.
[앵커]
It would be nice to see the situation in Korea, but they say that Korea is not an earthquake-safe zone. According to reports, there are at least 14 active faults only in the Yeongnam area in the southeastern part of the Korean Peninsula. How much risk are we exposed to at this level?
[홍태경]
In fact, according to the regulation of active faults in Korea, the regulation puts all faults that have generated an earthquake at least once within the relatively recent few thousand years into the category of active faults. As a result, the range is relatively wide. However, if you look at the records of earthquakes that actually occurred on the Korean Peninsula, there are many cases where the known faults and locations do not overlap.
Current faults that cause numerous earthquakes lie hidden underground. It is presumed to lie unnamed. Therefore, the government is currently conducting a national search for hidden underground faults. The Yeongnam region as well as the metropolitan area were recently completed.
Previously, Gangwon region, then Jeolla and Chungcheong regions were followed in turn. When these investigations are completed, we will be able to identify hidden underground faults on a national scale, and depending on the size of the fault, we will be able to identify the largest possible occurrence.
[앵커]
Are there places that have been confirmed to some extent now?
[홍태경]
As you said, the Yeongnam area was recently completed. The metropolitan area was also recently completed. So, you will be in a state of understanding things like the size of the fault or the size of the underground fault in the area. Investigations have recently been completed in areas including Seoul, the metropolitan area.
[앵커]
In the case of Gyeongju, you said that if the earthquake that occurred last time was near a private house like this, you would be concerned about great damage. Then, are most earthquakes that occur in Korea likely to occur in shallow areas?
[홍태경]
That’s right. In Korea as well, the most frequent depth is between 4 and 10 km. So, the depth is shallower than the earthquake that occurred this time in Turkiye. However, the largest earthquake magnitude of earthquakes in Korea is up to about 7 on the magnitude. Scale 7 is…
[앵커]
Could a magnitude 7 occur in Korea?
[홍태경]
That’s right. If you look at something like a history book, you can calculate the largest earthquake that has occurred in the past through damage cases such as the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, and there are also those that reach a magnitude of 7. An earthquake that occurred in 1952 in Gangseo, near Pyongyang, was evaluated as a magnitude 6.2 among data recorded by seismographs. Of course, during the war, people were unaware that earthquakes had occurred at the time, but such large earthquakes could occur within the Korean Peninsula.
[앵커]
If you look at the video of the situation in Turkey or Syria earlier, the buildings collapse helplessly. I am worried that the earthquake-resistance situation in Korea is okay, but is the current earthquake-resistance design good?
[홍태경]
In the 2000s, Korea began to significantly strengthen seismic performance. In particular, the seismic performance and seismic performance required for each building have been further strengthened through earthquake disaster response measures. That’s why those standards are being applied to all public facilities and major social infrastructure.
However, the problem is that public facilities built before 2000 are a bit concerning. In particular, in the case of school buildings, among elementary school buildings, there are quite a few buildings that have not yet been implemented with seismic performance. These need to be reinforced at the local government level or the education office level, but they are still in a very poor state. I’m going to hurry up and pay attention to that part.
[앵커]
You even said that an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 could occur in Korea as well. It seems that we should be thoroughly prepared for earthquakes.
Chung Eui-jin Digital News Team Editor
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