"Apply for Safety Inspection of Old Villas"…Seoul City Accepts Applications Year-Round

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] On the 13th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will conduct "on-site safety inspections" for small-scale aging buildings that are over 30 years old after completion.

Small-scale aging buildings refer to buildings that are not subject to regular inspections under the "Building Management Act," "Facility Safety Act," or "Apartment Management Act." These include houses, neighborhood living facilities, and facilities for the elderly and children that are over 30 years old.

Owners or managers of buildings can apply for a safety inspection at the local district office anytime if there are concerns or suspicious issues.

Upon receiving an application, the district office will first have an expert in construction or building structure visit the site to conduct a visual inspection of the building's condition. If the building is judged to be inadequate or poor, a specialized institution will conduct a secondary safety inspection.

Seoul plans to promote a project that supports up to 50% of the cost of structural reinforcement work for aging buildings in connection with the safety inspection support project. Small-scale aging buildings that receive an inadequate or poor rating from expert safety inspections and undergo detailed inspections and precise safety diagnoses will be eligible, with the final support amount decided through a subsidy review committee.

There are approximately 260,000 aging buildings over 30 years old in Seoul. Since 2018, through the small-scale aging building safety inspection support project, the city has supported inspections for 28,000 buildings as of last year.

Seoul plans to actively promote the support details through its website and other channels to make it easy for citizens to understand, and to expand the volume of safety inspections and repair support budgets annually.

Kim Seongbo, Director of the Housing Policy Office of Seoul, said, "It is still a reality that many aging buildings require safety inspections," adding, "Building owners and managers need to actively raise awareness of citizen safety by utilizing the support projects to prevent building safety accidents in advance."