<Anchor> This
is a friendly economic time.
Today (5th) is with reporter Jo Yoon-ha of the Ministry of Economy.
Recently this week?
Did the government come up with new measures to reduce the noise between floors?
<Reporter>
Yes, yes.
Actually, noise between floors is not a thing of yesterday or today.
In particular, after the COVID-19 outbreak, the conflict between floors has exploded.
It's probably because people are spending more time at home, but in fact, in some cases, such conflicts have turned into violent incidents.
So, the government has come up with measures to solve this problem.
Until now, the construction company had made a model floor before the construction of the apartment and gave permission for the completion if it passed the noise standard between floors.
But from now on, even after the apartment is built, you have to check how much noise it produces.
If it does not meet this standard, the construction company has been changed to either perform supplementary work again or compensate for damages to prospective tenants.
<Anchor>
So, after the construction is done, let's do an inspection and then make a judgment.
However, even if it changes like this, there are a lot of voices saying that this will be effective in the field. Have you ever heard of it yourself?
<Reporter>
Yes, this is actually a measure that has just begun, but there are many questions in the field like, 'How effective will this really be?'
Even though the apartments have already been built and supplementary work is being done, there is no construction method to reduce the noise itself.
They actually talk like this in the field, so let's listen together.
[Construction company official: (reinforcement work)] It's actually impossible.
It is said that if the floor is torn off again, all the generations will have to be ripped off. Without tearing the floor, reinforcing materials must be put on the floor again and concrete must be poured again.
.]
And the lack of coercion is also a problem.
Even if the standards are not met, the law only allows the head of the local government to recommend 'You should do this', so there is no way to do anything if the construction company doesn't follow it and acts like a fool.
And the fact that the supplementary construction itself is actually acknowledging that 'the noise between the floors in our apartment is too much', so if it is known to the outside, the house price will fall, and the move-in may be delayed, etc., and the situation can be complicated.
So, there are analyzes like this, and there is a concern that there is no legal standard related to compensation for damages.
<Anchor>
This is not compulsory now.
<Reporter>
Yes.
It's a recommendation.
<Anchor> This
is a recommendation.
And even if there is a claim for damages, there is no legal standard for how much it should be?
<Reporter>
Yes, as of right now, this is not yet in place.
<Anchor>
Then it seems that follow-up work is necessary.
Yes?
<Reporter>
Yes, this time, not only the noise checking system between floors has changed, but the measurement method has also changed slightly.
Previously, I used a method called a bang machine that hit the floor with a 7.3kg tire.
But now the bang machine method is eliminated and a new method called impact ball is introduced.
It is a method of dropping a slightly soft 2.5kg rubber ball from a height of 1m.
The government explained that it has changed the method this time because it is similar to the actual noise and is used worldwide.
However, what is controversial is that the impact ball method was introduced once in 2014, but the Board of Audit and Inspection pointed out that it was scrapped after about a year.
When the Board of Audit and Inspection actually conducted the audit, the impact ball measured 5.7db less noise on average than the Bang Machine.
If you use the Bang Machine, you may fail, but if you use the Impact Ball, you may pass.
When I went to the site and listened to this, the sound was definitely low.
Experts pointed out that 'the noise standard between floors should be stronger and stronger, but it is going backwards'.
<Anchor>
I just heard it on the spot.
But, looking at the picture, is there really a big difference in sound between experimenting with a big tire and then reporter Cho holding a small ball and dropping it?
How was it?
<Reporter>
Yes, when I dropped it with a tire, it made a very dull and loud sound, but when I drop a rubber ball, it weighs less than that, so it actually has less impact, so the sound is a little low.
<Anchor>
Anyway, is there any way to reduce the noise between floors?
Let me explain.
<Reporter>
Yes, you are probably most curious about that part, but we already have the technology to reduce noise between floors.
It's being developed by construction companies, and one builder has created a completely new floor structure.
They added a special sound-absorbing material they made in-house and mixed building materials with it to create a new floor structure, and it makes less sound.
[Lim Jeong-hoon / DL ENC Smart Eco Team Leader: By adding a rubber cushioning material to the performance of the existing Styrofoam, we applied a composite cushioning material to improve the inter-
floor noise cushioning performance compared to the existing one.]
Have you heard of it?
But the sound was really low.
But the problem is that these technologies aren't actually used in building houses.
In the end, it's another question of money.
Apartment design is usually done by the developer or the reconstruction association, not by the construction company, but he ignored this technology because he was only interested in saving construction costs.
So in the future, even if you spend a little more money, if everything from design to construction is done properly, the noise problem between floors can be solved.
<Anchor>
So, in the end, I have all the skills and can do it, but I don't do it because of money.
<Reporter>
That's right.
It seems that this problem occurred because I had to save some money.