Gwangju Seo-gu Promotes Vacant House Remodeling Project to Alleviate Housing Cost Burden

Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Kim Ikang) announced on the 22nd that it will promote the ‘Vacant House Remodeling Project,’ which remodels long-abandoned vacant houses and provides them at half the market price to newlyweds and vulnerable groups.

Seogu District Office building. [Photo by Seogu]

The project targets vacant houses that have been unoccupied for more than one year among detached houses, and two locations will be selected through on-site investigations considering ownership, urban accessibility, and building aging.

Seo-gu will support up to 50 million KRW per location for interior and exterior remodeling, and vacant house owners will lease the houses to selected tenants at half the nearby market price for five years through a recruitment announcement.

Through future recruitment announcements, Seo-gu plans to select tenants based on the following priorities: ▲1st priority newlyweds (engaged couples and those married within three years) ▲2nd priority basic livelihood security recipients, lower-income groups, single-parent families, multicultural, large families, grandparent-grandchild families, elderly living alone, foreign workers ▲3rd priority general households.

Vacant house owners wishing to participate in the project can apply in person at the Accident Recovery Support Division by the 15th of next month.

Detailed information can be found on the Seo-gu Office website under notices and announcements.

Lee Seunggu, head of the Accident Recovery Support Division, said, “We will do our best to ensure that vacant houses in the city center are reborn as new residential spaces that reduce housing cost burdens for newlyweds and others through the vacant house remodeling project, which is being implemented for the first time this year.”

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Shin Dongho baekok@asiae.co.kr