On the 28th, special safety inspections were conducted at four locations including redevelopment sites, with the utmost priority placed on residents' safety.

Park Jun-hee, Mayor of Gwanak District, is visiting the redevelopment site on the afternoon of the 28th to check safety.

Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) is conducting safety inspections on vulnerable facilities until March 16, as the risk of safety accidents increases during the thaw period due to temperature changes.

The inspection targets include 188 major vulnerable facilities such as steep slopes, old structures like retaining walls and stone walls, roads, and construction sites. Issues that can be corrected on-site will be immediately addressed, and in cases where serious defects or risk factors are found, urgent repairs and reinforcements will be promptly carried out to proactively respond to safety accidents.

In particular, on the 28th, Park Jun-hee, Mayor of Gwanak-gu, personally patrolled and inspected four vulnerable facilities including retaining walls, pedestrian overpasses, traditional markets, and redevelopment construction sites, directly checking the stability of the facilities, safety conditions at construction sites, and safety education.

At the site, Mayor Park Jun-hee said, “Through more thorough patrols and inspections of vulnerable facilities with high safety accident risks during the thaw period, we will preemptively block risk factors and prioritize residents' safety to ensure thorough prevention of safety accidents.”

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu (right in the photo), signed a business agreement on the 27th with Yoon Hyung-joo, Chairman of Korea Habitat, to improve the living environment of semi-basement residences.

Seongdong-gu and Korea Habitat Sign MOU to Improve Semi-basement Housing Environment

The district provides administrative support such as identifying and recommending beneficiaries, while Korea Habitat installs five types of equipment including operable security windows

Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Korea Habitat (Chairman Yoon Hyung-joo) on the 27th to create a safe living environment for vulnerable housing groups.

Seongdong-gu signed the agreement with Korea Habitat to launch the Seongdong-type housing environment improvement project aimed at zero flooding in semi-basement houses. The district provides administrative support such as identifying and recommending beneficiaries, while Korea Habitat, with 30 years of home repair experience, is responsible for construction.

Since October last year, the district has formed and operated a housing safety task force composed of departments from housing, architecture, and welfare sectors. Additionally, a three-month full survey was conducted on 5,279 semi-basement households and 72 goshiwon (small dormitory rooms) to collect data for assessing disaster risks such as flooding and fire for vulnerable housing groups. In January, the district also signed an MOU with Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH) to lay the groundwork for leading public rental housing relocation support and other housing upgrade support projects.

Based on the full survey, five types of equipment?flood alarms, flood prevention barriers, indoor backflow preventers to stop sewage backflow, operable security windows, and ventilation fans?will be installed by June, before the start of the monsoon season, upon residents' applications.

A district official said, “Previously, support was mainly provided to houses that had already experienced flooding, but this Seongdong-type housing environment improvement project is significant in that it supports flood prevention facilities in advance through a full survey of semi-basement houses.”

Seongdong-gu plans to expand the project into a comprehensive housing environment improvement to enhance disaster prevention, ventilation, hygiene, and lighting in semi-basement houses through various public-private partnerships, thereby creating an inclusive housing welfare city.

Mayor Jung Won-oh of Seongdong-gu said, “As we have experienced in the past, when heavy rainstorms occur, semi-basement residents suffer the earliest and greatest damage, and Seongdong-gu cannot guarantee safety from such disasters. I thank Korea Habitat for readily extending a helping hand in support of Seongdong-gu’s efforts to assist vulnerable housing groups, and we will take the lead in improving the housing environment of vulnerable homes.”