Yangcheon-gu Mayor Kim Su-young Proposes 'Relaxation of Reconstruction Safety Inspection Standards' to Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

Minister of Land Noh Hyung-wook and Yangcheon District Mayor Kim Soo-young, Songpa District Mayor Park Sung-soo, and Nowon District Mayor Oh Seung-rok hold a housing policy meeting on the 13th afternoon at the Land Development Exhibition Hall... Three district mayors request easing of current reconstruction safety inspection standards and convey residents' opinions of reconstruction promotion complexes... Raise issues such as increased safety threats due to housing aging... Propose reconstruction promotion as a groundbreaking housing supply plan in central Seoul

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] On the afternoon of the 13th, Yangcheon-gu Mayor Kim Soo-young, Nowon-gu Mayor Oh Seung-rok, and Songpa-gu Mayor Park Sung-soo met with Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Noh Hyung-wook at the National Land Development Exhibition Hall in Jung-gu for a meeting to discuss cooperation on housing policies including reconstruction.

This meeting was arranged to convey the opinions of autonomous districts regarding housing policies to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and to share residents' opinions and trends together. It was reported that the meeting was made possible through the active efforts of Yangcheon-gu Mayor Kim Soo-young. At the meeting, the three district mayors unanimously proposed easing the safety inspection standards for promoting reconstruction.

The current reconstruction safety inspection, revised in March 2018, evaluates items such as structural safety, building finishing and equipment aging, residential environment, and cost analysis with different weights, among which structural safety accounts for the highest proportion at 50%. This is a significant increase from the previous 20% weighting before the revision.

Also, in the reconstruction safety inspection, if the first judgment results in grades A to C, maintenance and repair are recommended; grade D indicates conditional reconstruction; and grade E confirms reconstruction. For conditional reconstruction at grade D, a second detailed safety inspection determines the final decision on reconstruction. If the second detailed inspection fails, residents face additional costs when retrying the first inspection, increasing their burden.

The three district mayors expressed a shared view at this meeting to relax the structural safety ratio in the safety inspection to establish a more reasonable safety inspection standard and to discuss ways to reduce residents' cost burdens associated with the safety inspection process.

They explained three reasons for the necessity of easing reconstruction standards. First, aging housing threatens residents' safety. In addition to parking shortages and noise between floors, aging water and electrical safety facilities cause rust water and increase the frequency of fires, power outages, and leaks. There was also an opinion that the residential environment weighting in the safety inspection should be increased to reflect the gradually improving living standards of residents.

Second, reconstruction can enable revolutionary housing supply in Seoul. Currently, the Mok-dong Apartments in Yangcheon-gu, consisting of 14 complexes with about 26,000 households, are expected to supply about 53,000 households?twice as many?if reconstruction is carried out. Therefore, reconstruction can enhance trust in the government's housing supply policy. Concerns about real estate price increases due to reconstruction were also mentioned, emphasizing the need for various supplementary measures.

Third, easing safety inspection standards is necessary for consistent government-led reconstruction promotion. Unlike complexes that completed safety inspections before the 2018 strengthening and are smoothly proceeding with reconstruction, complexes whose reconstruction deadlines have arrived after 2018 face difficulties due to the application of strengthened safety inspection standards.

It is also reported that the voices of residents from Mok-dong 9th and 11th complexes in Yangcheon-gu and Taereung Woosung Apartments in Nowon-gu, which recently failed the appropriateness review of safety inspections, as well as the increased anxiety among Nowon-gu residents?who have the most complexes reaching reconstruction age in Seoul?were conveyed.

After the meeting, Yangcheon-gu Mayor Kim Soo-young, Nowon-gu Mayor Oh Seung-rok, and Songpa-gu Mayor Park Sung-soo expressed their thoughts, saying, “Easing reconstruction regulations is essential to improve residents' living environments and increase housing supply,” and “It was a meaningful time to fully convey the voices of reconstruction complex residents to the government.”

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