Parking Lots Filled with Porsche and Ferrari, Increasing Verbal and Physical Assaults... The Strange World of Rental Housing

Luxury Foreign Cars Lined Up in Rental Housing
Increasing Conflicts Including Verbal Abuse and Assault Within Complex

On September 1st, representatives of the 'Disaster Inequality Memorial Action,' consisting of 177 labor and civil society organizations including the Poverty Solidarity and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, held a press conference near the Yongsan Presidential Office in Seoul, condemning the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's drastic budget cuts for public rental housing. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

It has been revealed that public rental housing supplied by the government as part of residential welfare for low-income households is filled with high-priced foreign cars and other luxury vehicles exceeding the entry standard value. Recently, incidents such as verbal abuse and physical assault within rental housing have also surged, causing ongoing disturbances surrounding these housing units.

According to data on the 'Status of Assets Exceeding the Standard Value in Public Rental Housing' submitted by LH and the Housing Management Corporation to Jang Cheol-min, a member of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, there are 264 households possessing high-priced foreign cars and other luxury vehicles that exceed the tenant eligibility criteria. Some of these households were even found to have overdue rent payments.

The tenant selection criteria for public rental housing require △households without home ownership △total assets of 242 million KRW (permanent rental) or 325 million KRW (public rental) △and vehicle value not exceeding 35.57 million KRW.

However, among 609,379 households in 817 public rental housing complexes submitted by LH, 71,233 households (11.7%) owned two or more vehicles, and 264 households (0.04%) possessed luxury vehicles exceeding the eligibility criteria. The number of households exceeding the criteria by housing type was 26 for permanent rental, 233 for public rental, and 5 for Happy Housing.

Luxury vehicles included high-priced domestic cars such as the Genesis EQ900, as well as 143 households owning foreign cars. BMW and Mercedes-Benz each accounted for the highest number with 48 vehicles. Other brands included Porsche, Ferrari, Maserati, Tesla, and Audi.

Notably, seven luxury vehicles including foreign cars were found in a public rental housing complex in Wirye New Town near Songpa-gu, Seoul. In a public rental housing complex in Yongin OO, there was a household owning a Mercedes-AMG S63 4Matic + L (2018 model) worth over 100 million KRW, which had a history of rent arrears. Among households owning luxury vehicles, there was even a case of rent arrears lasting up to 22 months.

According to the current 'Public Housing Work Processing Guidelines,' even if a vehicle exceeding the standard value is confirmed during the renewal of permanent, public, or Happy Housing leases, a one-time renewal grace period is allowed for permanent and public rentals. Particularly, for permanent rental households that moved in before June 30, 2017, renewal is possible up to two times even if the requirements are not met, as pointed out by Assemblyman Jang.

Assemblyman Jang Cheol-min stated, "Although public rental housing is prepared as part of residential welfare for low-income households, tenants owning luxury vehicles have been found," and added, "Some institutional improvements are needed, such as disallowing renewal grace for parts exceeding the entry standard value."

The controversies surrounding rental housing do not end there. Recently, the number of incidents and accidents has also been on the rise.

According to data submitted by LH to Min Hong-chul, a member of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, the number of incidents such as physical assault, verbal abuse, and swearing between residents and between residents and complex workers was only 310 cases in 2020, but increased to 501 cases last year. This year, within just eight months, 509 cases have already been recorded, surpassing last year's total.

Looking in detail at incidents and accidents occurring in LH rental housing over the past two years and eight months, cases of physical assault, verbal abuse, and swearing between residents and complex workers increased by about 55%, from 235 cases in 2020 to 353 cases last year, and 364 cases up to August this year. Meanwhile, incidents between residents remained relatively stable, with 155 cases in 2020, 148 in 2021, and 145 up to August this year.

Assemblyman Min Hong-chul said, "Incidents such as verbal abuse, physical assault, and swearing within rental housing can cause anxiety not only to the victims but also to surrounding residents," and added, "LH must prepare measures to prevent such incidents in advance to ensure the safety of residents and complex workers."

LH stated, "We are conducting campaigns to establish a culture of mutual respect and community living between residents and workers, and will continue to actively cooperate with related agencies to prevent incidents and accidents."

Regarding the issue of luxury vehicles, LH explained, "We have strengthened renewal and registration criteria for owners of luxury vehicles, and due to raising the vehicle value standard, the number of vehicles exceeding the criteria has decreased," adding, "In the future, we will strictly enforce renewal refusals and parking registration restrictions for luxury vehicle owners during lease renewals to manage the situation."