"When Promoting, But..." Building Number Plate Management in Disarray

Damaged and Unidentifiable After Sunset... Reinstallation Decisions Vary by District

'Individual Responsibility in Principle' Law and 'Budget Usage Scope' Interpretations Differ

A building number plate in Ssangchon-dong, Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City is so worn and damaged that it is unrecognizable.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] Since the government promoted the use of ‘road name addresses’ instead of the traditional lot number addresses in 2014, the installed ‘building number plates’ have faded and been damaged, failing to function properly.

Moreover, interpretations regarding the laws on repair and reinstallation of worn building number plates and the scope of related budget usage differ among autonomous districts, highlighting the need for administrative consistency.

According to the five autonomous districts of Gwangju Metropolitan City on the 23rd, a total of 127,848 building number plates are installed in the Gwangju area. Specifically, Dong-gu has 16,930, Seo-gu 21,574, Nam-gu 21,000, Buk-gu 38,604, and Gwangsan-gu 29,750.

Building number plates are part of an address system composed of ‘road name + building number,’ assigning names to roads and numbers to buildings.

The government began promoting the introduction of road name addresses in 1996, enacted and implemented the Road Name Address Act in 2007, and started nationwide installation of guide facilities.

Building number plates were installed in the Gwangju area in 2011, before the full adoption in January 2014, accompanied by large-scale publicity through the media.

However, even though only a few years have passed since installation, many building number plates have become so worn that they are difficult to recognize.

In fact, damaged building number plates were easily seen in the Ssangchon-dong area of Seo-gu on that day.

Some were even so worn that they were completely unrecognizable.

As the number of building number plates damaged by rain, wind, and sunlight increases, citizens have been inquiring with autonomous districts about reissuance, but the process has been repeatedly delayed due to ambiguous interpretations of budget usage and related laws.

This year, Gwangju City allocated 150 million won for the maintenance and repair of road name address guide facilities to the five autonomous districts. Accordingly, the districts match the city budget with their own budgets on a 1:1 basis to repair guide facilities.

However, opinions differ on maintaining and repairing building number plates, which are not public facilities like ‘road name signs,’ ‘national point number plates,’ or ‘local guide signs,’ but are managed by individuals.

The Road Name Address Act stipulates that building number plates must be managed by the building owner or occupant.

Article 16, Paragraph 2 states, “If a building number plate is damaged or lost, it must be reissued and attached by the relevant mayor, etc., and if the damage or loss is due to the fault of the owner or occupant, the owner or occupant must bear the cost.”

Autonomous districts interpret this differently, arguing that even if natural damage is clear, individuals are the managing parties, not the districts.

Dong-gu, Buk-gu, and Gwangsan-gu hold the view that reissuance applications can be accepted and reinstallation performed using related budgets, while Nam-gu believes it needs further review.

Seo-gu initially stated that it could not use the budget because the managing party is an individual under the Road Name Address Act, but recently secured additional related budgets and launched a large-scale survey with a maintenance plan.

Dong-gu is also conducting a comprehensive survey of damaged building number plates, and Gwangsan-gu plans to conduct a similar survey.

Because each autonomous district expresses inconsistent positions on reissuance of building number plates, citizens point out the lack of administrative consistency.

A citizen, Mr. Jung (49), said, “Some districts reinstall if there is no fault for damage, while others say they cannot. Should administration differ depending on where you live? Clear standards and consistent administration are needed.”

In response, a Gwangju City official said, “We understand that annual surveys are conducted to determine whether damage is natural or artificial. In principle, it is correct that individuals manage them, so it seems that opinions differ among districts.”

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