SH Corporation "1,332 Semi-basement Households Demolished... National Budget Support Needed for Purchase Budget"

1332 Semi-basement Houses to Be Demolished by End of August
Request for National Subsidy Support for Abolishing Subsidy Return Purchase Budget Planned

Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH Corporation) has argued that the subsidy refund system should be abolished and national government support for the budget to purchase semi-basement houses is necessary to reduce the number of semi-basement homes.

On the 8th, when heavy monsoon rain was forecasted, flood prevention water barrier panels were installed on the basement windows near Namseong Sagye Market in Dongjak-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

SH Corporation announced on the 4th that it had purchased 1,332 semi-basement houses and a total of 7,696 houses including above-ground floors by the end of August to eliminate semi-basement housing.

Since the semi-basement flooding incident in August 2022, SH Corporation has purchased 2,650 semi-basement houses (619 of which are semi-basement). Currently, it is proceeding with related procedures, including the approval of the purchase review for an additional 736 semi-basement units.

To reduce semi-basement housing, SH Corporation has laid the groundwork for the government’s semi-basement purchase policy by proactively requesting the relaxation of purchase criteria. It simplified the criteria that made it impossible to purchase illegal buildings and other properties, easing major regulations that were obstacles to expanding purchases. It also proposed institutional improvements to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, making it possible to purchase semi-basement units individually in multi-family housing.

In addition to the semi-basement houses purchased and held since the early 2000s, SH Corporation has supported relocating residents of recently purchased semi-basement houses to above-ground floors. It is also conducting facility condition inspections for flood prevention and installing disaster prevention facilities concurrently.

SH Corporation plans to abolish the subsidy refund system and request national government support for the costs of purchasing semi-basement houses to reduce their number.

Houses purchased for the elimination of semi-basement units cannot be used for rental purposes, but the budget for purchase rental housing, which is allocated for housing supply purposes, is being used. If these houses are demolished and rebuilt, national subsidies must be refunded according to related regulations, which negatively affects SH Corporation’s financial soundness.

So far, SH Corporation has invested 1.4442 trillion KRW (about 180 million KRW per household) in purchasing semi-basement houses. Due to rising real estate prices, the average price per household for semi-basement houses purchased since 2022 is about 292 million KRW, but national government support remains at only 182 million KRW per household.

Kim Heon-dong, President of SH Corporation, said, "In accordance with the government and Seoul City’s policy of ‘gradual elimination of semi-basement housing,’ we will steadily purchase semi-basement houses and request institutional improvements to expand the volume of elimination. We will do our best to ensure the safety of semi-basement residents through housing upgrades and the installation of disaster prevention facilities."