Early Reconstruction from Mokdong Faces 'Red Light'... Safety Inspection Barriers Get Higher

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] The Mokdong New Town 9th Complex apartment in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, has hit a wall with the reconstruction safety inspection, casting a red light on the projects of early reconstruction promotion complexes.

According to the maintenance industry on the 25th, the Reconstruction Promotion Committee of Mokdong 9th Complex received a notification from Yangcheon-gu Office on the 23rd that reconstruction is not possible with a C grade (maintenance) in the public institution adequacy inspection (2nd safety diagnosis). The adequacy inspection conducted by the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology scored 58.55 points, falling short of the D grade (conditional reconstruction, 55 points or below) required for reconstruction. This complex had received a D grade with 53.32 points during the first safety diagnosis conducted by a private service. It was a setback in the public institution adequacy inspection that must be additionally conducted when receiving a D grade.

Earlier in May, residents of Mokdong 9th Complex had expected to pass the safety diagnosis as Seongsan Sijeong Apartment in Mapo-gu passed the final safety diagnosis, and the nearby New Town 6th Complex also cleared the final hurdle. The problem is that Mokdong 9th Complex avoided the strengthened safety diagnosis through the June 17 measures. The government made on-site investigations mandatory during the 2nd safety diagnosis and changed the advisory committee system so that the total score, which determines whether reconstruction proceeds, is not disclosed and deliberations can be conducted by category. However, this applied only to projects requesting the 2nd safety diagnosis after the announcement of the measures and did not apply to Mokdong 9th Complex, which was already undergoing the 2nd safety diagnosis.

Emergency signals have also been lit for other complex projects within Mokdong New Town, where strengthened standards will be applied. Since the government has repeatedly announced measures after the June 17 plan, expressing a strong will to stabilize housing prices, the threshold for safety diagnosis inevitably becomes higher. Moreover, since the safety diagnosis standards were strengthened in 2018 by increasing the weighting of structural safety items, most complexes just over 30 years old face decisions on reconstruction progress by a few points, so concerns for these complexes are bound to grow. Mokdong New Town apartments consist of a total of 14 complexes with about 27,000 households. Currently, Mokdong 5th, 11th, and 13th complexes have passed the 1st safety diagnosis and are undergoing the strengthened public institution adequacy inspection. Most of the remaining complexes are currently conducting the 1st safety diagnosis.

From the first half of next year, the entity selecting the 1st safety diagnosis institution will change from the district office to the city, and sanctions against inadequate safety diagnosis institutions will also be strengthened. A maintenance industry official said, "Safety diagnosis evaluations will become more stringent in the future," adding, "As the initial reconstruction barriers rise, there is growing concern that supply in major areas of Seoul through maintenance projects will also shrink."