Seoul City Opens Support Center for Regional Housing Association Damage Consultations

Seoul City announced on the 13th that it will open a 'Victim Consultation Support Center' to provide free legal consultations for victims of local housing cooperatives and guide them on case-by-case response measures.

Located in the Seosomun 2 Building of Seoul City Hall, this center is a follow-up measure to the 'Seoul-type Local Housing Cooperative Management Plan' released by the city in June. A Seoul city official explained, "Most victims of local housing cooperatives face difficulties because they are unaware of related laws and regulations," adding, "The center was established to provide accurate information and help victims respond appropriately to their situations."

The Victim Consultation Support Center will operate every Tuesday and Thursday from 1 PM to 5 PM. Legal experts related to local housing cooperatives will be available for face-to-face consultations by appointment or telephone consultations. The city plans to expand staffing and operating hours in consideration of future consultation demand. Additionally, the city intends to actively utilize the accumulated consultation content and cases in conducting a survey on the actual conditions of local housing cooperatives and carry out inspections.

Furthermore, a 'Local Housing Cooperative Information Page' will be newly established on the Seoul city website. It will provide guidance on the local housing cooperative system procedures, membership qualifications, victim cases, precautions, and will continuously disclose the step-by-step promotion dates, member recruitment status, and land acquisition status of 118 ongoing projects in Seoul.

Han Byung-yong, Director of the Housing Office of Seoul City, said, "A channel has been created for victims of local housing cooperatives who previously had no proper place to seek consultation, so we expect that they will no longer suffer in silence by paying out of pocket for legal advice," adding, "We will continue to strive to increase the transparency of local housing cooperative projects and create an environment where members can fairly guarantee their rights."