Selection of 10 Dal-dongnae and Jjokbangchon Renovation Projects for Next Year... 30 Billion Won in National Funding Support

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will select 10 locations for the ‘2024 Urban Vulnerable Area Living Environment Improvement Project (Vulnerable Area Improvement Project)’ to improve the living conditions of residents in urban vulnerable areas with poor housing environments such as hillside villages, shantytowns, and jjokbangchon (small, cramped rooms). Additionally, three new projects for the 'Public-Private Partnership Aged Housing Improvement Project' to be conducted this year will also be selected.

On the 3rd, the Ministry announced that on the 4th, it will hold a briefing session at the Government Sejong Complex for local government officials nationwide to guide them on the selection procedures for these new projects. This call for proposals is for selecting new projects for next year, and due to the special account budget scheduling, it will be conducted earlier than in previous years.

The scene of Baeksa Village in Nowon-gu, known as 'Seoul's last hillside village,' on the 4th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

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The Vulnerable Area Improvement Project aims to improve basic living conditions closely related to residents’ daily lives such as housing, safety, and sanitation so that residents in urban vulnerable areas can be guaranteed a minimum quality of life. Since 2015, the government has selected and supported a total of 157 target sites.

The 10 selected target sites (additional selections possible depending on the application budget) will receive approximately 30 billion KRW in national funding over five years starting next year, with each project receiving about 3 billion KRW in national support (up to 7 billion KRW for the construction of rental housing to improve the residential environment of urban jjokbangchon).

The project contents of the Vulnerable Area Improvement Project include securing safety facilities such as fence and retaining wall repairs, expansion of fire access roads, installation of drainage facilities for disaster preparedness, and CCTV installation; improvement of communal restrooms; and expansion of living and sanitation infrastructure such as water supply and sewage systems.

It also includes housing maintenance such as slate roof replacement and repair of aged houses, as well as human care and resident capacity-building projects like elderly care, health management, and resident education programs to revitalize the community.

As one of the application criteria for the target areas of the Vulnerable Area Improvement Project, the government decided to include disaster prevention districts, natural disaster risk improvement districts, and special disaster areas, and to grant additional points to areas where disasters have occurred.

Additional points will also be given to lower-ranked areas according to the balanced development index to improve the project’s contribution to national balanced development.

Alongside this, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will select three locations for the 2023 Public-Private Partnership Aged Housing Improvement Project through this call for proposals. The target project sites are areas selected for the Vulnerable Area Improvement Project between 2020 and 2022.

Public-Private Partnership Model for Old Housing Improvement Project Diagram.

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For this aged housing improvement project, the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation will provide sponsorship funds; KCC will supply energy-efficient and fire-preventive building materials such as windows; Commax will provide smart home security materials; Shinhan Wallpaper will supply wallpaper; and Kyungdong Navien will provide boilers.

Korea Habitat will be responsible for the actual project implementation by utilizing government budgets, sponsorships from public institutions and private companies, and its own network.

The application periods for the Vulnerable Area Improvement Project and the Aged Housing Improvement Project are May 31 and this month’s 28th, respectively, and final selections will be made after evaluations by the evaluation committee.

Gil Byung-woo, Director of Urban Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "The Urban Vulnerable Area Living Environment Improvement Project and the Public-Private Partnership Aged Housing Improvement Project, which are calling for new target sites this time, are essential to meet the quality of life of residents in vulnerable areas who are not guaranteed basic living safety due to deteriorated housing environments and poor living infrastructure." He added, "We hope that each local government will actively participate in the call for proposals so that the living conditions of residents in urban vulnerable areas can be further improved."

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