Seoul City to Conduct Comprehensive Fact-Finding Survey of All Local Housing Cooperatives This Year

Published 12 Feb.2026 11:15(KST)

114 Local Cooperatives Under Inspection After Member Recruitment and Establishment Approval

The photo is unrelated to the article. Yeonhap News

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on February 12 that it will conduct a full fact-finding survey this year on 114 local housing cooperatives.

The city will inspect all local housing cooperatives that are in the process of recruiting members or are at stages following establishment approval twice a year. It plans to inspect 51 cooperatives in the first half and 63 in the second half of the year to systematically diagnose overall cooperative operations and improve structural problems.

This year’s fact-finding survey will combine “joint inspections by the city, districts, and experts” with “independent inspections by each autonomous district.” Public-sector experts, including lawyers, certified public accountants, and specialists in urban planning and housing (MP), will participate to review legal matters, accounting, and overall business feasibility.

In particular, this year the city has improved the survey manual by subdividing inspection items such as contracts, accounting, and information disclosure, and by clearly distinguishing the roles of experts in each field to strengthen the professionalism of the inspections.

The city plans to focus its inspections on practical causes of damage to cooperative members, such as corruption by cooperatives and project management agencies, suspected embezzlement or misappropriation of funds, false or exaggerated advertising, and nondisclosure of information.

If the same violation is detected two or more times as a result of the inspections, the city will immediately impose fines or file criminal complaints without prior notice. It will also take strong administrative measures against cooperatives that obstruct the survey or refuse to submit documents.

For cooperatives whose projects have been delayed for a long period or where project implementation is impossible, the city plans to minimize problems by providing support from public-sector experts, including advice on dissolution procedures, conflict mediation, and consulting on project termination.

Choi Jinseok, Director General of Housing Policy at the Seoul Metropolitan Government, said, "We will continue to carry out intensive management and supervision and improve related systems, with the prevention of damage to cooperative members as our top priority."