Seoul City to Fully Support Demolition Costs for Abandoned Empty Houses in Residential Areas

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 28th that it will fully support the demolition costs of privately owned vacant houses that have been left as eyesores in residential areas for a long time.

This is part of the 'Vacant House Utilization Urban Regeneration Project' that Seoul has been implementing since 2019. Since last year, in addition to purchasing vacant houses, the city has been carrying out a private vacant house utilization project that supports demolition and facility establishment costs for private owners who do not wish to sell their properties.

Seoul decided to fully cover demolition costs to prevent illegal dumping of garbage in abandoned vacant houses, safety accidents such as fires and collapses caused by deteriorated vacant houses, and potential crimes due to increased crime rates. The city and autonomous districts will share the demolition costs, which can reach up to 40 million KRW, covering everything from surveying, asbestos inspection, demolition, to waste disposal.

Furthermore, if the vacant house owner agrees to utilize the demolished vacant house site as living SOC such as village parking lots, neighborhood gardens, or rest areas, the city and autonomous districts will fully support not only the demolition costs but also the establishment costs. Through this, last year, village parking lots and rest areas were created in three locations including Ssangmun-dong in Dobong-gu and Changsin-dong in Jongno-gu. This year, the plan is to create living SOC by utilizing a total of 16 private vacant houses.

Owners of vacant houses who wish to demolish their properties can apply to the vacant house department of the respective district office. The district office will select support recipients by investigating concerns about safety accidents and the extent of residential environment damage through its own review.

Yang Yongtaek, Acting Director of the Seoul Urban Regeneration Office, said, "This demolition and establishment cost support project is a twofold initiative that not only refurbishes abandoned vacant houses but also creates living SOC needed in the community," and added, "We hope many vacant house owners will participate so that vacant houses can be recycled as spaces for local residents."

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