Eco-Friendly Green Remodeling to Capture Greenhouse Gases and Fine Dust... Government Launches Full-Scale Initiative

Exterior view of K-Water Mulsarang Daycare Center in Daedeok-gu, Daejeon, remodeled with green remodeling (Provided by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] The government announced plans to accelerate the green remodeling project aimed at environmentally friendly improvements of aging buildings by preparing support measures separately for the public and private sectors.

On the 13th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated that Minister Kim Hyun-mi visited the 'K-water Mulsarang Daycare Center,' an exemplary case of the green remodeling project, to verify the improvements in building energy performance, air quality, and living environment resulting from the project introduction, and held a meeting to discuss activation measures.

At the meeting, members of the Democratic Party including Woo Won-shik, Yoon Kwan-seok, and Park Hong-geun, elected representative Park Young-soon, the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) presidents, and green remodeling project operators attended to exchange opinions on the government's policy direction for promoting green remodeling and future cooperation plans among related agencies.

The K-water Mulsarang Daycare Center was completed in 2015 through the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's pilot project supporting green remodeling in the public sector. It underwent a full remodeling applying insulation reinforcement, Low-E double-glazed windows (energy-saving Low-E glass coated with a metal that reflects infrared rays, layered as double glazing), installation of heating and cooling systems, and forced ventilation devices, resulting in a 22.2% energy reduction and an average monthly utility cost saving of about 500,000 KRW, making it a representative success model.

The green remodeling project improves energy performance and living environments by enhancing insulation, airtightness, and facilities of aging buildings with deteriorated energy efficiency. It is also evaluated as effective in meeting the building sector's greenhouse gas reduction target of 64.5 million tons by 2030 under the Paris Climate Agreement.

Currently, among 7.2 million buildings in South Korea, about 75%, or 5.4 million buildings, are aging buildings over 15 years old. Due to decreased energy performance, greenhouse gas emissions are increasing, and indoor environment deterioration caused by reduced insulation performance, condensation, mold, and fine dust negatively affects residents' health and life satisfaction. Particularly, among 135,000 public buildings, approximately 41%, or 55,000 buildings, are facilities used by vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly, making the activation of green remodeling projects for public buildings urgent.

Through the meeting, the need for tailored strategies supporting the public and private sectors separately to spread green remodeling was emphasized. In the public sector, the necessity of promoting leading projects and establishing a roadmap to mandate green remodeling for buildings with low energy performance was raised. In the private sector, opinions were expressed on the need for more diverse projects, such as expanding interest support projects targeting energy-intensive detached houses and small-scale buildings.

Minister Kim Hyun-mi said, "Recently, with COVID-19 making building safety and comfort a key issue, the economic effects of green remodeling, such as job creation in the construction materials industry related to high-performance, eco-friendly materials and facilities, and the building energy sector, are gaining new attention. We will strive to discover leading projects that the public can feel in their daily lives, such as green remodeling projects for aging public buildings used by vulnerable groups like children and the elderly."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.