Seoul City Provides 30 Billion KRW Interest-Free Loans for Energy Efficiency Improvement of Aging Buildings

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will start the '2024 Building Energy Efficiency (BRP) Loan Support Project' from the 18th to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from old buildings. The loan support scale has increased by 8 billion KRW from last year to 30 billion KRW.

The BRP loan project, implemented since 2008, provides interest-free loans for costs incurred in energy efficiency improvement works such as window replacement, insulation materials, and lighting upgrades.

About 70% of Seoul's greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings, and buildings over 30 years old account for 54.3% of all buildings in Seoul. The city explained that the greenhouse gas emissions per unit area of these old buildings are more than twice that of newly constructed buildings.

This year, the city especially increased the interest-free loan support scale by 8 billion KRW from last year, expanding it to 30 billion KRW. Last year, the BRP budget was set at 12 billion KRW in the main budget, and an additional 10 billion KRW was secured through the supplementary budget, providing a total of 22 billion KRW in interest-free loans. Eligible recipients are private buildings located in Seoul that have been approved for more than 10 years.

Buildings can receive interest-free loans up to 2 billion KRW, and housing up to 60 million KRW. The loan principal must be repaid in equal installments within 8 years.

Also, to reduce the economic burden on citizens this year, the mandatory guarantee insurance subscription rate for housing loans has been lowered by 23.7% compared to the previous year. As a result, the average insurance premium for a 10 million KRW loan decreased from about 120,000 KRW to 90,000 KRW.

Furthermore, to enhance participant satisfaction and project reliability, the city plans to strengthen on-site inspections by deploying experts and to tighten management by subdividing action standards for violations by construction companies.

The city will also hold an explanatory meeting on the 1st of next month at 2 p.m. in the auditorium on the 4th floor of the Welfare Building at Seosomun Office, targeting building and housing owners and construction companies interested in the BRP project.