"Heating Bill Zero Won"...Rapid Increase in Households Tampering with Meters

Intentional Malfunctions: 29 Households in 2023 → 83 Households This Year
Police Reports and Highest Heating Fees Imposed in the Same Neighborhood

During last winter's cold wave, as heating costs surged, cases of intentional damage to meters to avoid heating charges have increased.

Gas meter in downtown Seoul. The photo is not directly related to the content of the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

According to data submitted on the 20th by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to Lee Yeon-hee, a member of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, a total of 177,391 apartment households had heating bills of '0 won' for more than one month from November last year to February this year. This accounts for 7.5% of the total 2,374,375 households in the apartment complexes to which these households belong.

In particular, the number of cases where meters were intentionally damaged to avoid heating charges has surged. The number of 'unconscientious households' that damaged meters increased from 17 households in the 2022 survey, 29 households in the 2023 survey, to 83 households in this year's survey. Households that intentionally break meters to avoid paying heating bills are reported to the police or face measures such as being charged the highest heating fees in the same apartment building.

Among the households with zero heating bills, 122,986 households, accounting for the largest share of 69.3%, did not actually use heating. Vacant houses accounted for 31,706 households (17.9%), and households that were away for a long period accounted for 5,664 households (3.2%). There were also 5,414 households (3.1%) classified as 'others' because the cause of no heating charges could not be identified.

The number of households not charged due to meter malfunction was 21,539, accounting for 12.1% of the zero heating bill households. Cases of actual meter malfunctions, not intentional damage, are on the decline. The number of households not charged heating fees due to meter malfunction was 26,071 in the 2022 survey and 27,265 in the 2023 survey, but decreased by 5,726 households (21%) in one year. A Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport official explained, "As the heating fee charge status survey was repeated, meter inspections became more thorough, resulting in fewer malfunctions."

By region, the highest number of households not charged due to meter malfunction was in Gyeonggi (14,242 households), accounting for 66.1% of all meter malfunction households. Following Gyeonggi were Seoul (2,371 households) and Incheon (1,665 households). In cases of intentional meter damage, 72 out of 82 cases occurred in Gyeonggi, the highest number.

The issue of apartments with zero heating bills became a topic in 2014, highlighted by actress Kim Bu-seon, known as the so-called 'Heating Martyr,' and since then, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has been investigating heating fee charge status every winter.