Signing of Business Agreement on the 14th at Seoul City Hall 8th Floor Meeting Room
First Public-Private Partnership Project for Housing Safety Vulnerable Groups Launched
[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Seoyul] The Seoul Metropolitan Government, Habitat for Humanity Korea, and Daewoo E&C have agreed to collaborate to improve the housing environment for vulnerable groups facing housing safety issues. With this, the city will be able to promote its first public-private partnership project aimed at enhancing the housing conditions of vulnerable residents.
On the morning of the 14th, the city announced that it signed a "Memorandum of Understanding for Improving the Housing Environment of Vulnerable Groups Facing Housing Safety Issues" with Habitat for Humanity Korea and Daewoo E&C at a meeting room on the 8th floor of Seoul City Hall. The signing ceremony was attended by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Yoon Hyung-joo, Chairman of Habitat for Humanity Korea, and Jung Won-joo, Vice Chairman of Daewoo E&C.
Recently, as companies have been engaging in various social contribution activities as part of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management, the city has been seeking ways to cooperate with companies to support vulnerable groups facing housing safety issues. With the participation of Habitat for Humanity Korea and Daewoo E&C, the city is now able to launch its first public-private partnership project in this regard.
This agreement includes joint cooperation plans among the participating organizations for ▲identifying households vulnerable to housing safety issues such as semi-basement homes ▲customized improvement of poor housing environments for vulnerable groups ▲and promotion of social contribution activities by the participating institutions.
The city will be responsible for identifying and recommending support targets based on surveys of semi-basement homes and providing administrative support for smooth project implementation. Daewoo E&C will actively participate in employee volunteer activities and sponsor 200 million KRW for this year's pilot project. Habitat for Humanity Korea, a nonprofit organization specializing in housing improvement, will implement customized housing environment improvement projects for each household, leveraging over 30 years of home repair expertise.
Two semi-basement households selected as pilot sites for the first public-private partnership project. The one on the left is located in Bukahyeon-dong, Seodaemun-gu, and the one on the right is in Hwagok-dong, Gangseo-gu. Photo by Seoul City Hall
Prior to the agreement, the city selected two semi-basement households as pilot targets for the first public-private partnership project last month and has been conducting on-site surveys and resident interviews to improve their environments. Work is underway with the goal of moving in early next month. The targets were selected by reflecting the results of a survey conducted in September on 370 semi-basement homes occupied by people with severe disabilities, narrowing down households that applied for flood damage assistance or have high flood risk ratings, and finalizing selections after resident interviews and on-site inspections.
The semi-basement homes in Bukahyeon-dong, Seodaemun-gu, and Hwagok-dong, Gangseo-gu, which are pilot project targets, will have external water-blocking thresholds to prevent rainwater inflow and flood and fire alarms installed. Additionally, window, insulation, and waterproofing work will be carried out, and moldy wallpaper, flooring, and sinks will be replaced. For the Hwagok-dong home occupied by a person with a physical disability, a "barrier-free" living environment will be created.
The city plans to focus on improving housing performance to enhance not only disaster risk but also ventilation, hygiene, and lighting quality and satisfaction, considering the characteristics of semi-basement homes.
Furthermore, based on the semi-basement home survey, the city will continuously identify vulnerable residents and expand private sector participation to ensure they can live in safe and comfortable housing spaces.
Yoo Chang-soo, Director of the Seoul Housing Policy Office, said, "We are grateful to Daewoo E&C and Habitat for Humanity Korea for empathizing with Seoul's efforts to help vulnerable residents and readily extending their helping hands. We will maintain close cooperation going forward, actively promote housing environment improvements, and actively seek second and third Daewoo E&C and Habitat for Humanity Korea partners to expand collaboration for vulnerable groups facing housing safety issues."
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