How does South Korea deal with noise from upstairs neighbors?

In recent years, neighborhood noise problems have become increasingly prominent in my country. Due to the lack of information, many people mistakenly believe that neighborhood noise problems are more prevalent in my country.

In fact, houses in urban areas around the world are not very soundproof. For example, our neighboring countries have noise pollution problems that are no worse than ours, and have a long history of them.

01

Neighborhood noise problems in South Korea

In South Korea, 71% of the population lives in public housing.

In recent years, violent incidents caused by noise problems on different floors have been on the rise.

Case 1:

On March 26, 2014, the Guro Police Station in Seoul, South Korea, arrested Jang (34 years old), who allegedly set fire to an apartment in his apartment in the early morning of January 11, 2014, due to an escalating noise dispute between residents of the same apartment building. The fire destroyed the apartment's front door and entryway, causing economic losses of 14.5 million won. After his arrest, Jang stated that the apartment had four children aged 3 to 10 living upstairs, and the noise pollution had been a persistent problem for six years.

Case 2:

There was also a shocking incident in South Korea involving an axe attack caused by noise pollution between apartments. In a residential complex in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, South Korea, a resident surnamed Lim, living on the second floor, got into an argument with a first-floor resident over noise issues. Enraged, Lim rushed home, retrieved a 60-centimeter-long axe, threatened the downstairs neighbor, and even poured 10 liters of gasoline and set it on fire, resulting in the deaths of two people on the ground floor. Lim was ultimately sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Noise between floors in public housing has long been a social problem in South Korea. According to statistics from the South Korean "Noise Between Floors Neighborhood Relations Center", the number of complaints from South Koreans about noise between floors has been increasing in recent years. There were more than 7,000 cases in 2012, and more than doubled to more than 15,000 cases in 2013.

Previous practices of South Korean police in handling similar cases:

South Korea lacks suitable mediation mechanisms and relevant laws to address noise issues between different floors. A South Korean police official stated that it's difficult to find legal provisions directly related to noise problems within the existing laws, so even after receiving a report and responding to the call, "there's not much that can be done except for mediation."

02

South Korean laws governing neighborhood noise

To address residential noise issues that cause neighborhood disputes, South Korea has established legal noise standards. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Environment announced that the "Noise Standards for Inter-floor Residential Buildings" would take effect on May 14 , 2014. The standards for direct impact noise are: 57 decibels during the day and 52 decibels at night; the standards for continuous noise lasting less than one minute are: 43 decibels during the day and 38 decibels at night. If noise levels exceed these standards three times a week, it is considered illegal.

The noise standards for neighbors stipulated in this law apply to noise generated by impacts to walls and floors, as well as airborne noise from televisions and musical instruments. The regulations apply to apartment buildings with 20 or more units, townhouses, and multi-story buildings, and include both above-below and left-right neighbors.

The types of noise specified include: noise from jumping or walking; noise from opening and closing doors and windows; noise from knocking and sawing; noise from dragging tables, chairs and furniture; noise from exercise equipment such as fitness equipment; and noise from televisions, radios, musical instruments, etc.

However, there are exceptions to the law, namely that the sound of toilet drains is not considered noise.

Currently, the most common type of noise disputes between floors in South Korea is caused by children jumping or moving things around in the room, accounting for 70% of all disputes .

Under the new standard, it is illegal for a child weighing 29 kilograms to jump around in a room for more than one minute. If the child jumps from the sofa to the floor, the instantaneous noise could reach 60 decibels, potentially causing noise pollution for downstairs neighbors.

In developed countries, noise pollution on different floors is considered a public nuisance, and residents are forced to move out after being disturbed more than three times. In Germany, however, residents who make unnecessary noise will be fined approximately 30,000 RMB under the Federal Order and Public Safety Act.

03

South Korea's ideas on noise evidence

The new noise standards for residential buildings and between floors, passed by the South Korean government, have sparked considerable controversy. Firstly, the method of noise measurement is problematic. Applicants must apply to a government-designated agency, and then experts will conduct measurements in the resident's home. Data obtained by individuals using noise measuring devices is difficult to use as legal evidence.

Because instantaneous noise is difficult for visiting experts to measure, it's unclear how long experts will have to wait for the noise level to be assessed in this case. Some experts also worry that with the implementation of this regulation and increasingly clear noise standards, lawsuits between residents and between residents and building developers may increase significantly.

An editorial in the Hankyoreh on April 12th argued that while government and parliamentary legislation to strengthen the management of noise pollution between floors is necessary, it is regrettable that the current legislation primarily focuses on penalties, neglecting to address construction companies and design standards . The relevant departments drafting the regulations have not focused on raising building noise standards, but instead specifically targeted noise pollution between floors, which smacks of shifting responsibility solely to residential residents. Therefore, whether noise pollution between floors in South Korea will decrease in the future remains questionable.

Noise disputes between floors in shared housing in South Korea have increased dramatically, tripling in the last five years. Horrific incidents, such as stabbings of neighbors with weapons or arson, have occurred frequently after arguments. With shared housing accounting for over 80% of residents in major South Korean cities, noise pollution between floors has become a pressing social issue. Residents should respect and care for one another. The use of indoor shoes, noise prevention education, greeting each other in elevators, publicizing renovation or construction information, and establishing community noise control committees should all be implemented in residential areas. These measures should begin with small acts of kindness, and legal aid should be a last resort for victims.

South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to subsequently implement the revised housing construction standards, stipulating that the inter-floor thickness must be at least 21 centimeters, and that the noise control standards must be met: the noise level when carrying household items and dropping them on the ground must be below 58 decibels, and the noise level when children jump must be below 50 decibels.

Source: Western Legal Daily / July 11, 2015 / Page 005, Jiuzhou Legal Commentary

Author: Jiang Dong

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Regarding the noise from upstairs

Every country has

But the essence of the problems is similar:

Poor sound insulation in the building

thin floor slab

Structural noise problem is obvious

The best way to solve this problem should be similar.

South Korea mandates that the floor slab thickness of residential buildings must be at least 21cm.

However, this still poses a potential hazard regarding impact noise.

The best solution is: floor sound insulation and vibration reduction measures.

The main sound insulation materials are: