LH Establishes Safe Working Environment for 19,000 Workers at Residential Happiness Support Center

Facility improvements including CCTV installation at rental housing complex management offices, strengthened measures to prevent worker abuse
Promotion of resident service improvements in rental complexes such as establishment of integrated housing management system

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) announced on the 12th that it has established the ‘Residential Happiness Support Center Worker Protection Measures’ to prevent power harassment issues against workers employed at rental housing complex management offices and to create a safe and comfortable working environment.

The Residential Happiness Support Center is a management office for rental housing complexes operated by LH. Last year, through a naming contest, the management office was renamed Residential Happiness Support Center (hereafter Happiness Support Center) to reflect the meaning of ‘providing comprehensive residential services and supporting the happiness of the community’ for rental housing residents, and remodeling of outdated office spaces was also carried out.

Currently, LH operates 1,203 Happiness Support Centers nationwide. This measure was prepared to provide safe working conditions free from verbal abuse and physical assault to approximately 19,000 workers at Happiness Support Centers across the country, including security and cleaning staff.

Prevention Measures Including Installation of CCTV, Customer Protection Barriers, and Emergency Call Bells

First, CCTV will be installed in 68 Happiness Support Centers within Yeonggu, National, and Happy Housing complexes where CCTV has not yet been installed, and recording notice signs will be posted to strengthen security facilities. Additionally, transparent acrylic customer protection barriers will be installed at customer service counters for rapid defense against physical attacks.

Furthermore, to receive immediate assistance from investigative agencies and minimize additional damage in case of emergencies, a cooperative system will be established with police stations and others. As a pilot project, emergency call bells will be installed in five Happiness Support Centers located in Jinju City, Gyeongnam Province, and will be expanded to regional headquarters nationwide.

Institutionally, a clause prohibiting power harassment against rental housing workers will be newly added to the ‘Standard Management Regulations for Rental Housing,’ and housing management companies will be required to establish safety management measures for their employees.

Immediate Reporting of Power Harassment Incidents... Damage Occurrence and Follow-up Measures

In cases of power harassment such as verbal abuse, physical assault, or sexual harassment by residents, employees can collect evidence regardless of severity by preparing management logs and immediately report to the competent investigative agency. The reporting party can also be a third party.

After damage occurs, rest and protection measures such as work suspension and reassignment will be guaranteed to prevent physical and mental aftereffects for the affected employees, and housing management companies are prohibited from dismissing employees or taking unreasonable disciplinary actions for these reasons.

Enhancing Transparency in Rental Complex Management

LH is also implementing measures to increase transparency in rental apartment management. The management regulations have been revised to settle unpaid costs such as labor costs at the time of management service contracts to eliminate unreasonable burdens on residents, and through periodic complex management evaluations, the bottom 5% of companies will be mandatorily replaced to ensure the quality of management services.

LH plans to conduct complex management audits by deploying its own professional audit committee members and to monitor overall management office tasks including accounting by establishing an integrated housing management system.

An LH official stated, "We will continuously improve the working environment so that rental housing workers can work safely and with respect, and enhance resident satisfaction through transparent rental complex management."