Ground-motion prediction equation for South Korea based on recent earthquake records

A ground-motion prediction equation (GMPE) for the Korean Peninsula, especially for South Korea, is developed based on synthetic ground motions generated using a ground motion model derived from instrumental records from 11 recent earthquakes of ML>4.5 in Korea, including the Gyeongju earthquake of Sept. 12. 2016 (ML5.8). PSAs of one standard deviation from the developed GMPE with MW 6.5 at hypocentral distances of 15 km and 25 km are compared to the design spectrum (soil condition, SB) of the Korean Building Code 2016 (KBC), indicating that: (1) PSAs at short periods around 0.2 sec can be 1.5 times larger than the corresponding KBC PSA, and (2) SD\'s at periods longer than 2 sec do not exceed 8 cm. Although this comparison of the design spectrum with those of the GMPE developed herein intends to identify the characteristics of the scenario earthquake in a lower-seismicity region such as South Korea, it does not mean that the current design spectrum should be modified accordingly. To develop a design spectrum compatible with the Korean Peninsula, more systematic research using probabilistic seismic hazard analysis is necessary in the future.