Escaping Foreclosure Crisis Due to Bridge Loan Interest Delinquency
Project Plan Approved After 8 Years Since 2016 Launch
Perspective rendering of the apartment construction promoted by Seosan Jamhongdong Regional Housing Association in Chungnam. / Seosan Jamhongdong Regional Housing Association
The Jamhong-dong Regional Housing Cooperative in Seosan, Chungnam, which has been suffering from severe internal conflict due to stagnant business progress, has finally received approval for its project plan after eight years since the project's inception, allowing full-scale development to begin.
This dramatic turnaround was achieved when the Emergency Response Committee managed to raise approximately 1.4 billion KRW to prevent a public auction of the project site, which had been initiated after the cooperative failed to pay hundreds of millions of KRW in bridge loan interest earlier this year.
In the meantime, the cooperative, led by the Emergency Response Committee, made efforts to restore its fallen credibility by holding multiple meetings to unify the intentions of its scattered members.
On September 8, a temporary general meeting was held to elect a new executive board, mainly composed of members from the Emergency Response Committee, thereby reorganizing the previously stagnant administrative structure and accelerating preparations for project approval.
As a result, on the 13th, the Jamhong-dong Regional Housing Cooperative in Seosan succeeded in obtaining project approval from Seosan City to construct 525 apartment units, ranging from 59 to 84 square meters, across six buildings (2 basement floors to 25 above-ground floors) with a total floor area of 82,331.22 square meters in Jamhong-dong.
A congratulatory banner for business approval posted at the project site on the 13th. /Seosan=Photo by Choi Byungmin
The cooperative members unanimously welcomed the news of the project approval. One member (68) said, "It is extremely regrettable and infuriating that the previous executive board ousted the management agency and wasted the past two years, resulting in losses of around 10 billion KRW solely from bank interest. However, since the Emergency Response Committee was formed in March, they have voiced new opinions and even defended against the public auction, rescuing the cooperative from the quagmire."
Another member (48) stated, "The cooperative seemed to be heading in such a strange direction that I couldn't even reveal to those around me that I was a member, and I was constantly anxious. Especially since I had invested tens of millions of KRW in down payments and bridge loans when joining, I was extremely worried, but now that the project has been approved, it feels like a dream. I look forward to the construction of wonderful apartments."
A cooperative representative said, "After countless hardships, the cooperative has finally received project approval after more than eight years. I would like to express my infinite gratitude to all the members who have trusted and actively supported the entire process, from defending against the public auction during the Emergency Response Committee period to the efforts of the new executive board," adding, "All executives and staff will unite and do their utmost to build outstanding apartments, aiming to break ground next spring."
A Seosan City official commented, "As we are well aware of the cooperative's circumstances, we can partly understand how valuable this project approval is for the members. We hope that all members will continue to unite under the leadership of the executive board, remain vigilant from the start of construction to completion, and strive to build high-quality apartments."
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