[Seoul District News] Songpa-gu Forms Committee of Lawyers, Apartment Surveyors, and Housing Managers for Professional Support in Apartment Management & Offers Monthly 1:1 Expert Consultations by Appointment on 2nd and 3rd Wednesdays ... Jung-gu Promotes 'Direct Union Establishment System' for Redevelopment Sites Sindang 10 District and Jungnim-dong 398 ... Guro-gu Adds 10 Fast Chargers for Electric Vehicles ... Seongbuk-gu Installs EV Fast Charging Stations at Bomun-dong Community Center, Jeongneung-dong Public Parking Lot, and Seongbuk-gu Health Center Outdoor Parking
[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Songpa-gu is beginning full-scale support by professionally and systematically assisting the management of apartment complexes, directly addressing various complaints and related disputes.
Songpa-gu (Mayor Seo Gang-seok) announced that it has established the first-ever "Apartment Complex Management Professional Counseling Center" among Seoul's autonomous districts to provide professional one-on-one counseling services starting from the 14th for specialized and efficient apartment complex management.
Songpa-gu is home to five large apartment complexes ranked first to fifth in Seoul with over 5,000 households each, and with large-scale redevelopment and reconstruction projects underway, the number of complaints and disputes related to apartment complexes is continuously increasing.
In response, the district operates the "Apartment Complex Management Professional Counseling Center," the first of its kind among Seoul's autonomous districts, to resolve conflicts related to apartment complexes and prevent disputes in advance.
The center offers one-on-one customized counseling by apartment complex experts on ▲interpretation of laws related to apartment complexes ▲bidding and contracting for apartment complex construction and services ▲long-term repair plans, reserve funds, management fees, and accounting for apartment complexes.
To this end, last month the district appointed two external experts (Attorney Kim Joo-won and Lee Myung-gi, Seoul City Apartment Complex Survey Specialist) as professional counseling advisors (photo), forming a team of five members including housing managers and specialized public officials for the Apartment Complex Management Professional Counseling Center.
The counseling center operates by appointment. Residents, management entities, and resident representative meetings of apartment complexes in the area can submit counseling applications at least seven days before the counseling date and receive one-on-one counseling from experts at the Songpa-gu Office apartment counseling room on the second and third Wednesdays of each month.
For reservations and inquiries, contact the Apartment Complex Management Team at the Housing Management Division of Songpa-gu Office.
Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, said, “We hope that expert counseling at the Apartment Complex Management Professional Counseling Center will prevent disputes among residents and promote transparent management of apartment complexes, thereby improving residents' housing satisfaction.”
He added, “By resolving apartment complex-related disputes without complicated litigation procedures or cost burdens through the 'Apartment Complex Management Professional Counseling Center,' the first of its kind among Seoul's autonomous districts, we can reduce unnecessary social and economic costs and contribute to establishing a transparent and proper apartment complex management culture through sharing similar case information and professional counseling.”
Jung-gu (Mayor Kim Gil-sung) has rolled up its sleeves to promote the 'Direct Establishment System for Associations' targeting planned housing redevelopment areas within the district.
The target areas are Sindang 10 District and the vicinity of Jungnim-dong 398. The district will actively engage in face-to-face communication with residents by setting up on-site booths in these areas.
The 'Direct Establishment System for Associations' is a system that allows skipping the organizing committee stage required to form a redevelopment association. When applied, Jung-gu and Seoul City support the costs of establishing the association and assist in forming a residents' council that acts as the organizing committee.
From the residents' perspective, this system can shorten the time required to establish the association by about two years, reducing the costs they need to bear.
However, the system requires the consent of more than 75% of landowners and other owners within the area. Currently, Sindang 10 District has a 61% consent rate, and Jungnim-dong 398 area has 37%. If the consent rate does not meet the requirement and the area is designated as a maintenance zone, an organizing committee must be formed afterward.
Jung-gu will strengthen promotional activities and face-to-face communication to increase the response rate for the Direct Establishment System for Associations.
The district will open on-site booths to provide information about the system. The booth for Sindang 10 District will operate until the 9th in the central part of the district (in front of 42, Dasan-ro 33da-gil, Jung-gu), and the booth for Jungnim-dong 398 area will operate from the 12th to the 16th in front of Exit 5 of Chungjeongno Station. At these locations, explanations of the system will be provided, consent forms collected, and individual one-on-one consultations on redevelopment projects will be offered.
Additionally, the district will send notices to all landowners and other owners in the area and personally contact residents who do not respond by phone.
Jung-gu's proactive approach aims to preemptively resolve misunderstandings and conflicts caused by biased or incorrect information and to revitalize redevelopment by providing institutional support.
Despite the Direct Establishment System being a good system that shortens project duration and reduces owners' burdens, many residents hesitate to respond due to misunderstandings caused by false information, such as the association president being an external expert or the district office trying to take control of the project, according to the district's assessment.
Jung-gu plans to focus on providing accurate information through outreach strategies and communication that enable individual residents to make their own judgments regarding other maintenance projects.
Previously, the district held 21 outreach resident briefings and academies since September and has continued briefings based on residents' requests (Out-Bound method) since November.
Sindang 10 District (64,166㎡) plans to build about 1,400 apartment units and is preparing for designation as a maintenance zone through rapid integrated planning. Jungnim-dong 398 area (28,015㎡) also aims to build about 780 apartment units and is awaiting maintenance zone designation.
Kim Gil-sung, Mayor of Jung-gu, said, "We will continue to develop and implement various methods to frequently and easily provide residents with information about complex maintenance projects."
Guro-gu (Mayor Moon Heon-il) announced that it has installed five additional rapid electric vehicle (EV) chargers with 10 channels to meet the rapidly increasing demand for EV charging.
According to the district, the cumulative number of registered electric vehicles increased from 3,733 at the end of 2021 to 4,992 as of last month, a 33.7% increase over 11 months this year.
Accordingly, the district completed the installation of rapid EV chargers earlier this month using 500 million KRW from the Seoul City special adjustment grant secured in 2021.
The chargers are located at ▲Guro-gu Office annex parking lot ▲Teotgol Public Parking Lot in Oryu 1-dong, and resident-priority parking zones at ▲365-12, Gaebong 3-dong ▲642-116, Guro 1-dong ▲212-14, Guro 3-dong, totaling five locations. These sites were selected to utilize accessible public parking lots and idle district-owned land.
The installed chargers are rapid chargers capable of supplying 100kW of power per hour.
The district plans to gradually expand EV charging facilities and is also considering additional installations for charging facilities catering to transportation-vulnerable groups.
Furthermore, after installation, the district will strictly manage the chargers by enforcing regulations against illegal parking and charging obstruction within EV-only charging zones, in accordance with the "Act on the Development and Promotion of Environmentally Friendly Automobiles," to ensure no inconvenience in EV charging.
A Guro-gu official said, “As demand for electric vehicles continues to rise, we are expanding charging infrastructure to make it more convenient for residents to use EVs. We will continue to strive to create a convenient charging environment.”
Seongbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Seung-ro) installed rapid electric vehicle charging facilities at three outdoor parking lots in the district on the 28th of last month and plans to start operation as early as mid-this month.
The outdoor parking lots equipped with rapid chargers are ▲Bomun-dong Community Center (photo) ▲Jeongneung-dong Public Parking Lot ▲Seongbuk-gu Public Health Center.
Seongbuk-gu established the "Public Electric Vehicle Charging Station Infrastructure Construction Plan" in February and has been promoting the project to improve charging convenience for villa and detached house residents who own electric vehicles.
Many surveys have shown that the biggest reason for hesitating to purchase a new electric vehicle is the lack of charging stations. A district official explained, “Although the number of EV chargers in Seongbuk-gu has significantly increased this year, most are installed in apartment parking lots, making it difficult for non-apartment residents to use them. Therefore, we installed outdoor rapid EV charging facilities accessible to anyone at any time.”
The installed chargers include two 100kW units and one 50kW unit. The 100kW chargers are dual DC Combo type, allowing two vehicles to charge simultaneously. They can charge up to 80% of an EV battery in about 40 minutes, greatly benefiting villa and detached house residents. The charging fee is 347.2 KRW per kW, based on Ministry of Environment standards.
Lee Seung-ro, Mayor of Seongbuk-gu, said, “From 2023, we plan to expand outdoor rapid charging facilities not only on public land but also at gas stations and religious facilities. We aim to realize a carbon-neutral Seongbuk by eliminating hesitations to purchase EVs due to lack of charging facilities.”
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