The number of landslides in South Korea increased 4.3-fold
In South Korea, the average annual number of landslides increased 4.3-fold — from 521 cases in 2015–2019 to 2,232 in 2020–2024. In 2025, 2,637 landslides were recorded in the country, most of them occurring in summer during heavy downpours, The Korea Herald reports.
Losses and development on slopes
Between 2016 and 2025, 75 people fell victim to landslides — 46.9% of all people killed or reported missing as a result of heavy rains during that period. In Seoul, 194 landslides were registered between 2010 and 2022, 42 of which resulted in deaths or injuries or caused material damage.
Mountains cover about 70% of the country’s territory, while roads and residential facilities are often built near slopes. In 2011, a landslide buried apartment buildings in southern Seoul, killing 16 people. In 2023, landslides and house collapses in North Gyeongsang Province claimed 13 lives, while in 2025, a landslide in Sancheong, South Gyeongsang Province, killed 14 people.
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Downpours and wildfires
Experts link the growing risks to changes in precipitation patterns: there are fewer rainy days, but rain increasingly falls over a short period with high intensity. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, there were 16 instances of more than 100 millimeters of rain falling within an hour in 2024 and 15 in 2025. Between 2010 and 2023, the average was 1.1 instances per year.
The National Institute of Forest Science noted that the risk of landslides may remain relatively high for six to ten years after a wildfire, as the death of trees weakens slope stability. The landslide in Sancheong in 2025 occurred in an area that had been affected by a fire earlier that year.
Updating forecasting
Specialists are calling for a review of the landslide forecasting system, which relies heavily on data from past incidents. Kim Dong-yeop, a professor of forest resources at Daegu University, believes that models should take possible future climate scenarios into account. Lee Soo-gon, a former professor of civil engineering at the University of Seoul, also stressed the need for more detailed geological surveys before major construction projects and coordinated slope management by various government agencies.
