Frequent Interfloor Noise During Holidays... Threats with Weapons and Mediation Challenges "Need for Training Mediation Experts"

Threats with weapons over noise between floors during last Lunar New Year holiday
46,596 phone consultations last year
6 times more than 10 years ago
Criticism of Neighbor Relations Center's mediation efforts
"Need to realize Floor Noise Management Committee and train mediators"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] Mr. A, who lives in Mapo-gu, Seoul, experienced discomfort due to loud music coming from the upstairs on February 2nd, during the Lunar New Year holiday. Around 1 a.m., he went to his upstairs neighbor, Mr. B, to complain. Mr. B reportedly came down holding a weapon, rang Mr. A’s doorbell, and threatened him with insults. Mr. A immediately reported the incident to the police, but Mr. B stated that he did not come down holding a weapon. However, when the police found a weapon matching Mr. A’s description in Mr. B’s home, they arrested Mr. B on the spot. Mr. B is known to be a producer for a music group and has composed various film and drama OSTs.

On the same day, another noise conflict occurred elsewhere. Around 8 p.m., Mr. C, in his 40s and living in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, went to complain about noise from upstairs but almost became a victim. Mr. D (42) was holding a weapon at the entrance and said, “Don’t keep coming here.” The Eunpyeong Police Station arrested Mr. D on the spot on charges of special threats. According to the police, the two had frequent conflicts over noise issues.

Complaints about noise between floors have increased sixfold over the past 10 years, deepening conflicts between neighbors. Although there are institutions to resolve these issues, they are insufficient. Experts suggest that committees to foster good neighborly relations and the training of professional mediators are necessary.

According to data from the Korea Environment Corporation under the Ministry of Environment, the number of phone consultations received by the ‘Noise Between Floors Neighbor Center’ was 46,596 last year. This is about six times the 8,795 cases in 2012. In particular, the number of consultations, which was 26,257 in 2019, increased to 42,250 in 2020 when COVID-19 began to spread.

There is a mediation institution to resolve such noise issues. The Noise Between Floors Neighbor Center, operated by the Korea Environment Corporation, provides services necessary to ease noise conflicts among residents of apartment complexes. First, residents can apply for a visit consultation through phone counseling. Before the consultation, a notice requesting a visit consultation is sent simultaneously to the apartment management office head and the opposing household.

The resolution method differs depending on whether the opposing household participates in the consultation. If the opposing household does not participate, counseling is first conducted with the management entity, and then noise measurements are taken at the applicant’s residence. If the opposing household agrees to participate, counseling with the management entity is conducted, and if the conflict continues, the apartment management office head can request an on-site diagnosis and conduct visit consultations with both households. The subsequent process resolves the conflict through noise measurement.

However, despite the operation of mediation institutions, there are criticisms that they are insufficient. Cha Sang-gon, director of the Housing Culture Improvement Research Institute, said, “The satisfaction rate of complaints at the Neighbor Center remains at 30% annually,” adding, “The key to noise complaint mediation is promptness and continuous management, but this is not well achieved.”

He explained that although experts need to visit or verify the site within 1 to 2 weeks after phone counseling, “in reality, the stages after counseling often require waiting for 2 to 3 months, and sometimes up to 9 months.” He also criticized the noise measurement standards as too high, saying, “They measure impact noise directly, but since the average noise includes times when the noise is heard and not heard, it is difficult to exceed the noise level threshold.”

Pyo Seung-beom, director of the Apartment Culture Research Institute, said, “Since people perceive noise differently, it is impossible to completely eliminate noise between floors,” but added, “It is necessary to realize apartment noise management committees and train mediators with psychological counseling qualifications to ensure consistent government-level management.”

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