Comprehensive Survey of Semi-basement Apartments Started in Seongdong-gu Expands Nationwide

2022 Seongdong-gu Conducts Korea's First Nationwide Semi-Basement Survey; Following Seoul in 2023, First Nationwide Household Housing Survey Including Semi-Basements Implemented This Year
Proactive Efforts to Improve Housing Conditions for Vulnerable Groups Expand Nationwide, Expected to Lay Foundation for Effective Housing Welfare Policies

Seongdong-gu, Seoul (Mayor Jeong Won-oh) announced that it will conduct the '2024 Household and Housing Basic Survey' targeting all dwellings, including semi-basements and vacant houses, as well as approximately 73,000 households from the 8th to the 27th of this month.

The 'Household and Housing Basic Survey' is a nationally approved statistic conducted every five years, led by the Statistics Korea and cooperated by local governments. It is a large-scale survey that verifies information on all dwellings and households nationwide and will be used to accurately set survey areas and prepare sampling frames for next year's 'Population and Housing Census' and 'Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Census.'

The survey items include 14 categories such as ▲ address ▲ type of dwelling ▲ construction period ▲ form of residential facility, and Seongdong-gu will conduct field verification and interviews targeting all dwellings, including vacant houses, and 73,460 households. Apartments built between 5 and less than 30 years ago, which can be surveyed using administrative and spatial data, are excluded from the field survey.

Notably, this year's 'Household and Housing Basic Survey' will conduct a full census including semi-basement and rooftop dwelling types. Until now, the sample survey method had limitations in systematically identifying the exact number and distribution of semi-basement residents.

To address this issue, Seongdong-gu conducted the nation's first full census of semi-basement dwellings in 2022. The following year, in 2023, it was expanded to the entire Seoul area, and this year, 2024, it has been adopted as a nationwide survey. The basic data collected through this year's survey is expected to greatly contribute to the establishment of effective housing welfare policies in the future.

Seongdong-gu is making proactive efforts to improve the actual living environment of vulnerable housing groups. In November 2022, the district enacted the Ordinance on the Improvement and Support of Hazardous Dwellings in Seongdong-gu, designating semi-basements, rooftop rooms, and goshiwon (small dormitory-style rooms) unsuitable for residential use as 'hazardous dwellings,' and established an institutional foundation for their improvement and support.

This ordinance was selected as an excellent ordinance by the Ministry of Government Legislation in 2023. In 2024, a cooling package support project was promoted for households living in rooftop rooms to prepare for heat waves, providing fans, summer blankets, cooling bands, and other items to support a comfortable and safe summer.

Jeong Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “I feel an even greater sense of responsibility seeing the semi-basement full census that started in Seongdong-gu reflected nationwide,” and added, “Based on this survey conducted with the participation and cooperation of residents, we will prepare practical housing welfare policies and do our best to create Seongdong-gu as a smart inclusive city where we live together.”