Korea Building Safety Inspection Cost Calculator

Estimate a Korean building regular inspection, detailed inspection, or detailed safety diagnosis fee from statutory person-days, 2026 engineering wages, overhead, technical fees, direct expenses, corrections, and VAT.

1. Service type and floor area

Choose the service actually being procured and the total floor area of one building. Each service has a separate statutory person-day table.

Inspection or diagnosis type
㎡

One building, 1–1,000,000 m². Values between references are interpolated; outside values are extrapolated.

2. Building adjustment factors

Attached Table 23 multiplies the base person-days by structure and use factors.

This calculator does not derive a weighted factor for mixed structures.

Confirm the primary use in the building register and statement of work.

3. Fee corrections

Article 62 adjusts the fee for complexity, building age, and prior materials supplied.

years

Age bands apply factors from 1.00 to 1.20.

This refers to the prior report and field-investigation note CAD files.

%

Enter -15% for simple through +15% for complex.

4. Wage, optional tasks, and direct expenses

Enter the wage applied to statutory person-days and additions documented in the actual statement of work.

KRW/day

Construction division default: KRW 310,884, effective 2026-01-01. Verify the contract-date rate.

person-days

Additional engineering effort for analysis, expert advice, and similar tasks.

KRW

Quoted travel, vehicles, equipment, helpers, material tests, access works, and report printing.

10% VAT

Planning estimate including selected VAT

KRW 93,335,126

Detailed safety diagnosis · 93 person-days · supply price KRW 84,850,114

Statutory fee range KRW 84,151,884 – KRW 102,852,303

Low range

Overhead 110% · technical fee 20%

KRW 84,151,884

Supply price KRW 76,501,713

Planning estimate

Overhead 115% · technical fee 30%

KRW 93,335,126

Supply price KRW 84,850,114

High range

Overhead 120% · technical fee 40%

KRW 102,852,303

Supply price KRW 93,502,094

Person-days and correction factors

Table 22 base

93 days

Fieldwork base

31 days

Structure factor

× 1.00

Use factor

× 1.00

Age factor

× 1.05

Prior-material factor

× 1.00

Complexity factor

× 1.00

Adjusted base days

93 days

Combined correction

× 1.05

The area exactly matches the 10,000 m² reference in Attached Table 22.

Planning-estimate breakdown

Direct labor
KRW 28,912,212
Overhead at 115%
KRW 33,249,044
Technical fee at 30%
KRW 18,648,377
Direct / optional-task expenses
KRW 0
Subtotal before corrections
KRW 80,809,633
Complexity / age / material correction
KRW 4,040,482
Supply price
KRW 84,850,114
VAT
KRW 8,485,011
Estimated total
KRW 93,335,126

Check for scope omitted from the estimate

  • Direct expenses are zero. Travel, equipment, helpers, tests, access works, and report production are not included.
  • Optional-task person-days are zero. Structural analysis and expert engineering effort are not added automatically.
  • Multiple buildings, mixed structures or uses, and night or holiday work require a separate professional estimate.
  • This is a service-fee budget range, not a safety grade, repair budget, or determination of legal applicability.

MOLIT Notice 2025-470 · rules verified 2026-07-27

Related calculators

How Korea calculates a building safety inspection fee

A Korean building safety diagnosis is not priced by multiplying floor area by an informal rate per square metre.
MOLIT Notice 2025-470 starts with statutory senior-engineer person-days for the service type and building size, adjusts those days for structure and use, and then adds overhead, a technical fee, direct expenses, fee corrections, and VAT.
Building age, structural complexity, and prior investigation materials can change the final amount even when two buildings have the same floor area.

This calculator reproduces that sequence for a single building under the rules verified on July 27, 2026.
It supports a regular safety inspection, detailed safety inspection, and detailed safety diagnosis, then shows a low, planning, and high estimate so owners and procuring entities can compare itemised proposals on the same basis.

Official person-days

Attached Table 22 references are interpolated or extrapolated.

Visible adjustments

Structure, use, age, complexity, and prior materials remain separate.

Comparable range

The permitted overhead and technical-fee bands produce three totals.

Scope: service-fee planning, not a safety verdict

Included in the estimate

  • Base person-days for one building and one selected service.
  • Structure and primary-use adjustment factors.
  • Direct labor, overhead, technical fee, entered direct expenses, and VAT.
  • Age, complexity, and prior-material corrections under Article 62.

Outside this calculator

  • A safety grade, defect diagnosis, or repair and reinforcement budget.
  • Eligibility, statutory inspection timing, or the competent authority’s order.
  • Korea’s redevelopment-diagnosis decision for a reconstruction project.
  • Cluster-building reductions, mixed-use weighted factors, and night-work premiums.

The statutory fee sequence

Articles 55 through 62 of the facility safety implementation guideline define a fixed-estimate approach based on standard staffing.
The calculator’s planning scenario uses the midpoint rates of 115% overhead and 30% technical fee for comparison, while the low and high scenarios preserve the full permitted ranges.

  1. Interpolate or extrapolate total and fieldwork person-days from Attached Table 22.
  2. Multiply the base days by the Attached Table 23 structure and primary-use factors.
  3. Add optional-task engineering days and multiply total days by the senior engineer daily wage.
  4. Add overhead at 110% to 120% of direct labor and a technical fee at 20% to 40% of direct labor plus overhead.
  5. Add quoted direct expenses, apply the combined corrections, and add 10% VAT when selected.

Formula summary

Direct labor = total person-days × senior engineer daily wage.

Overhead = direct labor × 110% to 120%.

Technical fee = (direct labor + overhead) × 20% to 40%.

Supply price = subtotal including direct expenses × combined correction factor.

Total = supply price + selected 10% VAT.

Attached Table 22 building person-days

Figures are senior-engineer person-days, with field-investigation days in parentheses.
Detailed inspection and diagnosis references begin at 5,000 m², so a smaller building is extrapolated from the nearest two non-zero points as Article 56 requires.

Korean building person-days by floor area and safety service
Floor areaRegular inspectionDetailed inspectionDetailed diagnosis
500 m²3 (2)——
1,000 m²3 (2)——
3,000 m²4 (2)——
5,000 m²5 (3)17 (11)85 (26)
10,000 m²6 (4)18 (12)93 (31)
30,000 m²10 (7)29 (21)148 (66)
50,000 m²14 (9)39 (29)205 (102)
100,000 m²24 (15)65 (50)347 (193)

Interpolated staffing is rounded to one decimal place under Article 56.
The result panel identifies exact, interpolated, below-range extrapolated, and above-range extrapolated cases.

Structure, use, age, and prior-material factors

Attached Table 23 adjustments

Structure and primary-use adjustment factors
GroupBuilding typeFactor
StructureSteel frame0.80
StructureMasonry0.90
StructureRC, SRC, or PC1.00
StructureTimber1.20
StructureSpecial structure1.30
UseOffice or retail1.00
UseResidential1.10
UseSpecial use or stadium1.20

Article 62 age corrections

Building age correction factors
Building ageFactor
15 years or less1.00
Over 15 through 251.05
Over 25 through 351.10
Over 35 through 551.15
Over 55 years1.20

Structural complexity may correct the fee from -15% for a simple configuration to +15% for a very complex one.
Supplying either a prior report or field-investigation note CAD files applies 0.97, while supplying both applies 0.95.
Do not select a reduction merely because ordinary drawings exist; confirm that the delivered materials meet the guideline and procurement requirements.

Step-by-step use

  1. Confirm the exact service name.
    Use the competent authority’s notice or the statement of work rather than choosing the cheapest inspection label.
  2. Enter one building’s total floor area.
    Do not combine several apartment blocks without applying the separate cluster-building rule.
  3. Select primary structure and use.
    A mixed structure or mixed-use complex needs a qualified firm to calculate a weighted adjustment.
  4. Match age and materials.
    Measure age from approval for use and verify that the prior report and CAD investigation notes can actually be delivered.
  5. Add optional labor and quoted expenses.
    Separate engineering person-days from laboratory tests, equipment, access works, travel, and printing.
  6. Compare itemised totals.
    Review every proposal’s labor, overhead, technical fee, expenses, corrections, and VAT on equal scope.

Worked example: 10,000 m² RC retail building

Assume a 20-year-old reinforced-concrete retail building needs a detailed safety diagnosis.
Structure and use factors are both 1.00, no prior materials are supplied, and optional labor and direct expenses remain zero during the initial budget stage.

Worked Korean detailed safety diagnosis planning estimate
ItemCalculationAmount
Base person-daysTable 22 at 10,000 m²93.0 days
Direct labor93.0 × KRW 310,884KRW 28,912,212
OverheadDirect labor × 115%KRW 33,249,044
Technical fee(Labor + overhead) × 30%KRW 18,648,377
Uncorrected subtotalDirect expenses assumed zeroKRW 80,809,633
Age correction20 years × 1.05KRW 84,850,114
VATSupply price × 10%KRW 8,485,011
Planning totalSupply price + VATKRW 93,335,126

Optional tasks and quote comparison

Article 60 treats work beyond the basic task as optional work when it is needed to achieve the investigation’s purpose.
This is why two legitimate proposals for buildings of the same size can differ substantially without either proposal using the wrong base table.

Drawings and analysis

Measured drawings, structural or geotechnical analysis, and expert advice.

Materials and ground

Core sampling, strength or composition tests, drilling, and GPR surveys.

Access and reinstatement

Temporary works, surface cleaning, and removal and restoration of finishes.

Field expenses

Travel, vehicles, assistants, hazard allowance, equipment use, and report printing.

  • Confirm that every firm uses the same service, floor area, structure, and primary use.
  • Check the contract-date KENCA construction-division senior engineer wage.
  • Compare the number of cores, non-destructive test points, analysis models, and access locations.
  • Ask the firm to separate engineering labor from pass-through tests and equipment expenses.
  • Confirm whether each total includes VAT and how extra work must be approved.

Frequently asked questions

Are a detailed inspection and detailed diagnosis the same?

No. Their statutory person-days differ greatly, and a diagnosis may require a broader safety assessment. Select the exact service stated by the authority or procurement document.

Why does a small building show extrapolation?

The detailed inspection and diagnosis tables begin at 5,000 m². Article 56 requires the nearest two non-zero references when a listed size is unavailable.

What should I enter as direct expenses?

Enter the written project quote, not a national-average guess. Include applicable travel, vehicles, assistants, tests, access equipment, temporary works, reinstatement, and report production.

Is the planning scenario a legally fixed price?

No. It uses midpoint rates within the permitted bands for budgeting. The contract price depends on scope, procurement rules, the firm’s itemisation, and agreed conditions.

Can I combine every block in an apartment complex?

Not directly. Article 61 has a cluster-building staffing method based on the largest block and related blocks. Obtain a qualified calculation for a multi-building scope.

Does the total tell me whether the building is safe?

No. Only a qualified institution can assess condition and safety after fieldwork and testing. This calculator estimates the service fee, not the outcome.

Can I keep using the 2026 wage next year?

Do not assume so. KENCA may publish a new annual wage survey. Verify the construction-division senior engineer rate at procurement and replace the editable default.

Official sources and update timing

The calculator reflects rules in force on July 27, 2026.
A later amendment to the Facility Safety Act was listed to take effect on August 28, 2026, so users procuring after that date should recheck the current act and any amended guideline before relying on these assumptions.

Recalculate with the actual Korean project scope

Check the building register for floor area, structure, and use, then enter the prior materials and optional-task quantities supported by the proposal.
Saving the three-scenario range and itemised breakdown makes a like-for-like procurement review much easier than comparing headline totals alone.

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