Si·Yeongdo-gu·Environmental Corporation·Sejeong Sharing Foundation·Design Promotion Institute, Business Agreement
Maintenance of Slate Buildings in Huinyeoul Cultural Village... Roles Defined by Institution
On the 29th, Busan City signed a business agreement at the Yeongseon 2-dong Administrative Welfare Center in Yeongdo-gu with Yeongdo-gu, Busan Environmental Corporation, Sejeong Nanum Foundation, and Busan Design Promotion Agency to jointly carry out a large-scale renovation of slate buildings in the Hinyeoul Cultural Village of Yeongdo-gu.
This business agreement was established to protect the health of residents and tourists and to elevate Busan's urban brand by having the public and private sectors cooperate to remove asbestos-containing slate roofs in the Hinyeoul Cultural Village, where tourist attractions and residential areas are densely located, and replace them with safe building materials.
The Hinyeoul Cultural Village, famous for its beautiful sea views and unique village scenery, still has 40 slate buildings despite being a popular tourist destination.
At the signing ceremony, Kim Gwang-hoe, Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs, Kim Ki-jae, Mayor of Yeongdo-gu, Ahn Jong-il, Chairman of Busan Environmental Corporation, Park Soon-ho, Chairman of Sejeong Nanum Foundation, and Kang Pil-hyun, Director of Busan Design Promotion Agency, signed the agreement. Ahn Seong-min, Chairperson of the Busan City Council, also attended.
Through this agreement, the participating organizations pledged to invest 130 million KRW in the large-scale renovation of slate buildings in Hinyeoul Cultural Village and defined the roles of each institution for this purpose.
Specifically, ▲ Busan City will oversee overall management including project planning and promotion, ▲ Yeongdo-gu will carry out practical tasks such as financial and administrative support, ▲ Busan Environmental Corporation will be responsible for construction supervision and management, ▲ Sejeong Nanum Foundation will provide 30 million KRW in funding, and ▲ Busan Design Promotion Agency will advise on roof colors and designs considering their impact on the tourist area's landscape.
Starting in April, an on-site survey of slate buildings in Hinyeoul Cultural Village will be conducted, and applications for project support will be accepted. Renovation work such as demolition and improvement is planned to be completed by August.
With this agreement, many slate buildings that had difficulty being removed due to exclusion from previous support projects can now be renovated, and by designing roof colors and other elements with consideration for the tourist area's landscape, Hinyeoul Cultural Village is expected to be reborn as a more attractive tourist destination.
It was also explained that the renovation is meaningful as it is linked to the social value management activities of Sejeong Nanum Foundation, which has a strong interest in local community development.
This year, the city will invest a total of 4.056 billion KRW to promote the 'Slate Disposal Support Project,' aiming to renovate about 900 slate buildings.
The Slate Disposal Support Project provides partial or full financial support for demolition or roof improvement of buildings using slate roofs or walls.
For houses, support is divided between priority support households and general households. Priority support households, which include low-income and vulnerable groups, can receive up to full demolition costs or up to 10 million KRW for roof improvement costs, while general households can receive up to 7 million KRW for demolition or up to 5 million KRW for roof improvement.
From 2012 to 2023, the city supported the demolition of slate roofs on a total of 13,172 buildings and also promoted roof improvement projects for 1,787 buildings after demolition.
Kim Gwang-hoe, Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs of Busan City, stated, “With this agreement, the slate buildings in Hinyeoul Cultural Village will be promptly renovated, enabling the city to embody the image of a safe 'Global Hub City, Busan.' By carefully considering the tourist area's landscape in the renovation, we will make Hinyeoul Cultural Village an even more attractive tourist destination.” He added, “We sincerely thank Sejeong Nanum Foundation for supporting this project as part of their social contribution activities. We will do our best to ensure this becomes a model case of public-private cooperation.”
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