New Apartments with Over 500 Households Required to Install 'Dahamtge Dolbom Center'

The opening ceremony of the first Dahamkke Care Center, which opened last year in Dong-gu, Gwangju.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] From now on, the installation of 'Dahamtge Dolbom Center' operated by local governments will be mandatory in newly built apartment complexes with 500 or more households. In addition, various special cases and regulatory relaxation measures will be implemented to facilitate the supply of single-person households.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that it will publicly notify the amendment to the "Regulations and Rules on Housing Construction Standards, etc." for 40 days from the 10th to the 19th of next month. This amendment includes improvements to various complaints raised regarding apartment construction standards, follow-up measures to the "Plan to Utilize Apartment Resident Community Facilities for Expanding All-day Care" announced in March, and the "Plan to Strengthen the Housing Supply Base in the Metropolitan Area" announced in May.

First, the installation of Dahamtge Dolbom Centers will be mandatory in apartment complexes with 500 or more households. Dahamtge Dolbom Centers are facilities established by local governments outside schools to provide after-school care services for elementary school students, in accordance with the "Child Welfare Act."

Since many parents want elementary care facilities near their residences, the plan is to install Dahamtge Dolbom Centers in apartment complexes where more than 60% of the population lives to eliminate care gaps. However, since the necessary space must be provided to local governments free of charge by the apartment complex for the operation of the Dahamtge Dolbom Center, an exception is made so that if more than half of the prospective residents oppose the installation, it may not be installed.

Measures to facilitate the supply of single-person households will also be implemented. First, regulations will be relaxed when converting non-residential facilities such as commercial buildings and offices located in station areas into studio-type long-term public rental housing. When existing facilities are converted and remodeled into studio-type housing and then sold to public institutions such as Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) or Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH Corporation), special cases regarding facility layout, housing structure and equipment, and ancillary and welfare facility standards will be established.

Parking lot-related standards will also be significantly relaxed. When studio-type housing under 30㎡ (exclusive area) of this type is supplied to non-car owners, the obligation to install additional parking lots beyond the existing ones will be exempted.

In addition, the scope of delegation for parking lot-related local government ordinances will be expanded. From now on, autonomous districts will also be included as entities that can set parking lot installation standards by ordinance. Furthermore, considering the vehicle ownership rate by region, parking lot installation standards can be strengthened and set by ordinance within a 20% range. If the exclusive area per household is 60㎡ or less, 50% will be applied.

For studio-type housing built within 500m of railway stations and transfer facilities in station areas, if units under 18㎡ are supplied as long-term public rental housing to non-car owners, up to 70% relaxation of parking lot installation standards will be allowed.

Conceptual diagram of stacked piping applied in 'Wirye Hillstate' and existing underfloor piping (Provided by Hyundai Engineering & Construction)

Bathroom standards will also be improved. Currently, drainage pipes for bathrooms are only regulated to be installed under the floor slab using the "underfloor piping" method, which exposes the pipes to the ceiling of the lower unit. This causes noise transmission to the lower unit and requires the consent of the lower unit for construction, causing various inconveniences.

However, from now on, it will be clearly stated that bathroom drainage pipes can also be installed using the "overfloor piping" method, which installs pipes above the floor slab, in addition to the underfloor piping method, promoting the application of this method.

Performance standards for automatic backflow prevention dampers installed to prevent the spread of steam, smoke, and odors from kitchens, bathrooms, and toilets to other units will also be presented. Currently, there are no specific performance standards, raising concerns about the use of low-quality products. In the future, only products that meet the performance standards set by group standards established under the "Industrial Standardization Act" will be allowed.

The amendment can be viewed from the 10th through the official gazette and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport website. If there are any opinions on the amendment, they can be submitted by mail, fax, or through the Ministry's website.

An official from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said, "Through this amendment to housing construction standards, we expect not only improvements in housing performance and quality but also solutions to social issues such as childcare blind spots and housing difficulties for single-person households. We will continue to closely examine related complaints regarding apartment complexes and actively improve necessary matters so that citizens can live more comfortably and pleasantly."