The city of Suwon in Gyeonggi Province has officially begun maintenance work on ‘empty houses,’ which frequently generate complaints. An empty house refers to a residence that has not been occupied or used by anyone for more than one year from the date the mayor or county governor confirms its occupancy or usage status. ‘Unauthorized buildings’ are not included in empty houses.
On the 16th, Suwon City announced that it will promote a project to establish an empty house maintenance plan based on the empty house survey conducted since 2021.
Previously, Suwon City ordered the voluntary demolition of an empty house that had been abandoned for decades in Mangpo-dong, Yeongtong-gu, in December last year. Since 2022, complaints had continuously arisen requesting the maintenance of the empty house due to safety accident risks. Suwon City ordered the owner to ‘voluntarily demolish’ the property, but when the owner did not comply, a penalty for non-compliance was imposed in December 2023. Subsequently, persuasion efforts were made, and finally, the house was voluntarily demolished in December last year.
In September last year, Suwon City maintained an empty house in Jeongja-dong, Jangan-gu, located next to a children’s playground. Residents requested maintenance after problems arose, such as teenagers gathering to smoke in the empty house. Suwon City provided a subsidy of 4.4 million KRW to install a fence on the wall and replace broken windows and the front door to block entry.
From 2021 to 2024, Suwon City confirmed the completion of maintenance on 44 empty houses and then provided subsidies. Among the 44 houses, 32 were demolished.
The subsidies include ▲up to 30 million KRW for public use after demolition or remodeling ▲up to 20 million KRW for simple demolition (with a 10% self-payment) ▲up to 6 million KRW for safety measures. A total of 220 million KRW has been paid in subsidies so far.
Last year, a survey was conducted on 300 suspected empty houses with no electricity or water usage in the past year, and 198 houses (66%) were determined to be empty houses. Based on the survey results, the empty house maintenance plan is scheduled to be completed by August.
A Suwon City official said, "We will continue to promote the empty house maintenance project to minimize problems caused by empty houses," adding, "Through empty house maintenance, we will improve the deteriorated residential environment and enhance the quality of life for residents."
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