Junggu Yaksu Cooperative Association's Remarkable Efforts in Improving Aging Housing Environment in Yaksudong

Yaksu Public House Cooperative Selected as 2021 Village Enterprise by Ministry of the Interior and Safety... Discovering and Remodeling Vacant Houses in Yaksu-dong Area to Improve Environment, Rent to Vulnerable Groups, Create Jobs... Presenting a New Model for Resident-Led Urban Residential Environment Improvement Projects

On the 18th, Seoyangho, Mayor of Jung-gu (right), and Jeong Chunmo, Chairman of the Yaksu Gongga Cooperative, signed a village enterprise agreement.

Seoyangho, Mayor of Jung-gu, is inspecting the remodeled Yaksu Bogumjari on the 18th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Jung-gu, Seoul (Mayor Seoyangho) announced on the 23rd that the Yaksu Gongga Cooperative, which has taken the lead in improving the environment of old houses in Yaksu-dong, has been selected as a village enterprise designated by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in 2021.

A village enterprise is a village-level business where residents utilize local resources to create profit-making businesses and realize the benefits of the local community through those profits. Once designated, they receive project funds to support various management aids such as consulting, sales channel support, and promotion.

The Yaksu Gongga Cooperative has been running a project since 2018 to remodel long-abandoned vacant houses in the area above Dongho Tunnel in Yaksu-dong, where about 400 households of old houses are densely located, and supply them to vulnerable groups.

This project sprouted from the local residents’ awareness of and willingness to solve the regional problem of vacant houses, which had been a headache for the community, aiming to improve the village environment by utilizing these vacant houses.

Vacant house owners and neighbors, who witnessed the neighborhood becoming slum-like, formed a residents’ council to solve the problem. They negotiated with the vacant house owners and first signed a five-year free lease contract, repaired the houses, and planned the ‘Yaksu Bogumjari’ rental housing project to supply them at affordable monthly rents to housing-vulnerable groups.

In 2019, residents who shared the same intention pooled their joint investment funds to cover construction and repair costs and established a cooperative, a social economy organization where residents share opinions.

After opening the first ‘Yaksu Bogumjari’ in September 2018, a total of nine houses were remodeled by 2020, gaining attention as a role model for resident-led residential environment improvement projects.

Houses that were once abandoned and hard to believe were livable were cleanly and warmly renovated, transforming into homes for neighbors living in poor housing conditions. Through this process, residents learned problem-solving methods and achieved the fruits of harmony. Not stopping there, members of the Yaksu Gongga Cooperative are striving to create a virtuous cycle in the local economy by using part of the rental income to establish scholarships and share them annually with underprivileged local youth.

The district signed an agreement on the 18th and plans to provide multifaceted support, including continuous business model consulting and applying for public projects such as Seoul’s ‘Resident Technology School’ to train necessary professional residents.

Jung Chunmo, director of the cooperative, said, "I feel rewarded that abandoned vacant houses have been transformed into stable living spaces for those in need. We plan to expand the scope of the project not only to improve the local residential environment but also to operate resident community programs utilizing local human resources, such as care projects for elderly living alone."

Seoyangho, mayor of Jung-gu, said, "Jung-gu, an old downtown area, has a low rate of residential environment improvement and many deteriorated areas. The project to revitalize abandoned vacant houses under resident leadership and provide living spaces for struggling residents is very meaningful. We will prepare various measures to increase the utility value by utilizing vacant houses throughout Jung-gu."

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