Seoul Completes Gocheok Dome Steel Reinforcement... Additional Safety Verification Set for Next Month

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it completed reinforcement work on 97 steel roof frames at Gocheok Sky Dome in March of this year and plans to conduct additional verification next month to determine whether the reinforcement method was appropriate.

This follows a recent audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), which pointed out safety management issues at heavily used sports facilities, including Gocheok Sky Dome, Jamsil Sports Complex, and Seoul World Cup Stadium.

The BAI noted that during the process of reinforcing deformed connection parts on the Gocheok Sky Dome roof steel, only one side was reinforced—contrary to the results of a detailed safety diagnosis—leaving bearing capacity insufficient.

In response, the Seoul Metropolitan Government explained that the originally recommended reinforcement method conflicted with roof cables, making installation difficult, so an alternative approach was applied following expert consultation.

Initially, the detailed safety diagnosis recommended reinforcing 12 out of 23 deformed steel frames using a Y-shape method and the remaining 11 by adding steel plates.

However, through expert consultation, the city reinforced a total of 97 frames—including the 23 deformed steel frames and 74 affected steel frames—by attaching steel plates to them.

In August, the city also installed 29 artificial intelligence (AI) monitoring systems to track deformations in the roof steel in real time.

It also minimized the load generated when hanging performance lighting and sound equipment from the ceiling.

In November, the city plans to commission the Korean Society of Steel Construction to verify the adequacy of the reinforcement method, taking disaster situations such as heavy snow into account.

The city also addressed the BAI's finding that wind pressure was applied lower than actual levels during the remodeling process of the Jamsil Sports Complex main stadium.

It explained that wind load (the force exerted by wind on a building) appropriate for the stadium structure was applied in accordance with Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport standards during the design phase in 2022.

It further explained that wind tunnel tests conducted starting in July of this year confirmed that the wind load values applied in the original design were appropriate.

The city plans to re-verify final safety by even incorporating the results of measuring the actual strength of the roof steel.

At Seoul World Cup Stadium, reinforcement work will be pursued for the substructure of the sauna facility's bulgama (traditional kiln sauna).

The BAI pointed out that the load of the bulgama, which weighs 120 tons, was omitted from safety reviews during the 2022 detailed safety diagnosis.

As a result of expert reviews conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government during the audit period, it was confirmed that the bearing capacity of the lower beams supporting the bulgama is partially insufficient.

Accordingly, the city plans to determine the locations and methods requiring reinforcement through a precise structural review within this year and immediately launch construction.

Improvements to emergency generators that supply power in the event of a fire are also underway.

Seoul World Cup Stadium and Gocheok Sky Dome plan to complete construction to improve electrical facilities within this year to prevent excessive loads on emergency generators.

Jangchung Gymnasium has already completed the replacement of its generator control panel.

The city stated, "We will thoroughly oversee not only the safety inspections and reinforcement measures currently underway but also follow-up actions to ensure citizens can use sports facilities with peace of mind."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.