Dongdaemun-gu Promotes Apartment Communities Through Communication and Trust... Seongbuk-gu Lunar New Year Safety Inspections for Vulnerable Facilities

[Seoul District News] Dongdaemun-gu Supports Up to 3 Million KRW per Complex for 2022 Apartment Community Revitalization Projects Including Resident Communication, Harmony, Eco-Friendly Practices, Childcare, and Social Service Applications Open Until February 18... Seongbuk-gu Conducts Safety Inspections on Steep Slopes and Vulnerable Facilities in Apartment Complexes Ahead of Lunar New Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor You Deok-yeol) is promoting the ‘2022 Apartment Community Revitalization Project’ to help residents living in apartments build trust through communication with neighbors, and is recruiting apartment complexes to participate until the 18th of next month.

The Apartment Community Revitalization Project supports various community activities operated by apartment residents. This year, the district will invest a total project budget of about 17 million KRW, providing up to 3 million KRW per apartment complex, and will also offer consulting for the community revitalization project to make it easier for interested residents to apply.

The application fields include six themes: ▲Resident Communication and Harmony ▲Eco-friendly Practice and Experience ▲Hobbies and Startups ▲Education and Childcare ▲Health and Exercise ▲Neighborly Help and Social Service. Considering the COVID-19 situation, large-scale festivals or events are discouraged, and the project will mainly support non-face-to-face activity programs that strictly comply with social distancing and quarantine rules.

Apartment complexes wishing to apply must prepare a project plan jointly signed by the community revitalization group, the residents’ representative meeting, and the head of the management office, and submit it by visiting or mailing it to the Housing Division of Dongdaemun-gu Office by the 18th of next month.

The district will sign agreements with selected apartments and support community experts specializing in community activities to understand the status and characteristics of each apartment complex and help operate more detailed and diverse programs.

You Deok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, stated, “I hope the community revitalization project will serve as a catalyst to create a communication platform for apartment residents who are experiencing difficulties due to disputes and conflicts,” and added, “We will continue to actively support the community to harmonize and create a better living environment in apartments.”

Seongbuk-gu conducted safety inspections targeting 12 steep slopes and safety-vulnerable facilities within apartment complexes to prevent safety accidents that may occur during the Lunar New Year holiday period.

During the inspection period (January 14 to 21), the district conducted joint inspections with external experts (architects) and public-private cooperation to check retaining walls, steep slopes, and safety-vulnerable facilities within apartment complexes in Seongbuk-gu.

Through this inspection, safety-vulnerable facilities were checked for ground subsidence and cracks in buildings, structural cracks and deformations in major components, and steep slopes were inspected focusing on abnormalities in slope facilities (drainage, reinforcement, surface protection facilities) and slope conditions (cracks, erosion, bulging, etc.).

Seongbuk-gu makes efforts to prevent safety accidents that may occur within apartment complexes through regular inspections every year during thawing periods, rainy seasons, winter preparations, and other occasional inspections. For risk factors found during occasional inspections, issues that can be corrected on-site are immediately addressed by the management entity and owners, and issues not resolved during inspections are guided and managed to be repaired and reinforced later.

In particular, if signs of structural cracks, collapse, or toppling are found and the risk of safety accidents to residents and the public within apartment complexes is judged to be high, emergency measures and usage restrictions will be implemented, and risks will be eliminated through prompt repairs and safety measures.

A Seongbuk-gu official emphasized, “In 2022 as well, we will do our best to proactively prepare for vulnerable facilities and risk factors within apartment complexes through occasional inspections to create a safe Seongbuk.”