Rental Units Are Faded Pink, Sale Units Newly Painted Dark Gray... Controversy Over Apartment Exterior Wall Discrimination

The exterior wall of the sales building in an apartment complex in Nowon-gu, Seoul is painted dark gray, while the exterior wall of the rental building is painted pink.
[Photo by MBC]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] There is controversy over discrimination as an apartment complex has painted the exterior walls of the sale units and rental units in different colors within the same complex.

On the 15th, MBC reported that the exterior wall colors of an apartment complex in Nowon-gu, Seoul, built 23 years ago, differ by building.

According to MBC, within the same complex, apartments painted in a distinct dark gray coexist with apartments remaining in faded pink. The buildings freshly painted are the sale units where owners live, while the old pink buildings are the rental units. It was also revealed that the rental buildings were excluded from repainting due to financial reasons.

The owners of the sale units used 300 million won from the long-term repair reserve fund for repainting, but the rental units were excluded because their maintenance fee sources are different.

In response, a resident of the rental units complained, "It feels like they marked our homes as inferior."

The management office of the sale units explained, "We asked the homeowners' preferences and painted in different colors," but it is reported that even among the sale unit residents, there are criticisms such as "Was it really necessary to do it this way?"

This 'color of discrimination' was also found in newly built apartment complexes.

An apartment in the heart of Gangnam, Seoul, built less than two years ago, was constructed with rental and sale units painted in different colors from the start.

SH Corporation announced that when repainting the rental units next year, they will use the same color as the sale units.

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