"Seoul's Urban Core Is Becoming a 'Slum'... Scars of the New Town Boom and the Surge of Vacant Homes [130,000 Vacant Homes Report] ②"

393 Redevelopment Zones Lifted Since 2012
226 Vacant Homes Created
Slumification Persists Despite Residential Environment Improvements
Local Governments Must Stop the Spread Through Demolition

Editor's Note'17,603 households.' This is the number of vacant homes in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon. When expanded nationwide, the number rises to 134,009 households. Even in urban areas where housing supply is said to be insufficient, the number of vacant homes is steadily increasing. Urban vacant homes quickly turn into abandoned houses. Although the structures remain, they become so-called 'zombie houses' that are uninhabitable. In particular, once these vacant homes appear, they tend to spread like an epidemic. The proliferation of vacant homes can create high-crime areas and set the stage for neighborhoods to become ghost towns. Asia Economy aims to shed light on the issue of vacant homes scattered throughout the city and, over the course of five articles, propose prevention and management strategies.

Between the old two-story houses located in Chungsin 1 District, Jongno-gu, Seoul, a high-rise building can be seen. Photo by Lee Jieun

The spread of vacant homes in urban areas stems from indiscriminate designation and cancellation of redevelopment zones. This is a phenomenon distinct from the 'socially vacant homes' found in rural areas, which arise due to demographic changes such as aging and population decline. These urban vacant homes are created when people leave due to delays or cancellations of redevelopment projects. As projects stall, conflicts between original residents and newcomers deepen, and it becomes increasingly difficult to initiate new redevelopment efforts. Just as cracks continue to form in a broken window, vacant homes continue to spread. Experts have suggested that the most important solution is to strengthen the authority of local governments so they can dispose of vacant homes.

Scars of the New Town Boom... Surge in Vacant Homes After Deregulation of Redevelopment Zones

Choi Eunyoung, head of the Korea Urban Research Institute, pointed out on May 22, "The indiscriminate designation and cancellation of New Towns has inflicted a serious illness on neighborhoods," adding, "Once a neighborhood is designated as a redevelopment zone, homes are quickly abandoned and fall into disrepair as residents leave and maintenance is halted."

Since 2012, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has implemented a 'New Town and Redevelopment Project Exit Strategy,' canceling 393 out of 683 redevelopment zones in Seoul at the time. Of these, 279 were canceled by resident decision, while 114 were revoked by the city itself. This decision was made after the New Town project, aggressively pushed by then-Mayor Lee Myungbak, sparked conflicts among residents and triggered a speculative frenzy. In 2012, there were a total of 1,300 sites designated for New Town and redevelopment projects in Seoul, 305 of which (across 35 districts) were designated during Lee's tenure as mayor.

The consequences of the New Town exit strategy were harsh. According to a survey by the Seoul Institute, a field investigation of 103 sites where redevelopment zones had been canceled in Seoul in 2019 found that 226 vacant homes had emerged. There were 38 zones where at least one vacant home was found. Notably, 55.3% (125 homes) of all vacant homes were concentrated in four zones: Ogin 1 District and Chungsin 1 District in Jongno-gu, Sajik 2 District in Jongno-gu, and Seongbuk 4 District in Seongbuk-gu.

Improving Residential Environments vs. Resuming Redevelopment... Vacant Home Problem Remains Amid Resident Conflict

As vacant homes spread and neighborhoods began to deteriorate, the city re-designated these areas as 'Residential Environment Improvement Promotion Districts.' This approach involves the public sector directly improving infrastructure to upgrade the basic facilities of aging residential areas. As of the first quarter of this year, a total of 60 locations have been designated as residential environment improvement zones.

Houses lined up along a narrow alley in Chungsin 1 District, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Most of the vacant houses in Chungsin 1 District are located on plots with poor road access, adjacent to alleys less than 2 meters wide. Photo by Lee Ji-eun

This represents an effort to at least improve basic infrastructure. However, local residents remain largely indifferent. Many homes are located along narrow alleys or lack city gas connections, so most residents are unaware of any infrastructure improvements. In the case of Chungsin 1 District, the upper and lower neighborhoods were designated as environment improvement zones in 2019 and 2016, respectively, leading to repairs of stairways. However, residents continue to complain about issues such as the neglect of vacant homes and the inability of fire trucks to access the area.

To address these issues, new redevelopment projects are sometimes initiated. However, it has become even more difficult to accelerate these projects than before. The main reason is that prolonged delays have deepened conflicts among residents. In the case of Chungsin 1 District, a redevelopment promotion committee was established in 2021, but since then, the committee has split into two, making it impossible to reach a consensus. A committee official lamented, "Jongno-gu District Office has said it will proactively consider (the redevelopment project) if the committees are unified and resident consent is collected, but ongoing disagreements among residents have created a confusing situation."

Kim Jinyu, professor of urban transportation engineering at Kyonggi University, diagnosed, "The biggest reason redevelopment projects fail is the lack of consensus among residents," adding, "There are limits to the resources and manpower the public sector can provide for zones with low profitability and high levels of conflict."

Vacant Homes Already Exist... Local Governments Must Take Emergency Action Through Demolition

Experts emphasize that, given that conflicts among stakeholders are likely to be prolonged during the redevelopment process, proactive measures are needed to prevent slumification. Professor Kim stated, "According to the broken windows theory, if a single vacant house is left unattended, abandoned homes will spread in the surrounding area," and stressed, "Local governments must be empowered to actively demolish vacant homes."

One proposed alternative is to designate areas with a high concentration of vacant homes as priority redevelopment zones and have local governments focus on demolition in these areas. Each local government has the legal basis to order demolition under the 'Special Act on the Maintenance and Improvement of Vacant and Small-Scale Housing.' If the order is not followed, they can impose compliance fines or carry out demolition directly.

However, there have been no cases of city-initiated demolition. For example, while the Seoul Metropolitan Government has designated three areas in Yongsan-gu as high-density vacant home zones, it has not taken any specific management measures. According to Asia Economy's investigation, among Seoul's 25 district offices, not a single district has carried out city-initiated demolition of vacant homes in the seven years since 2018. As for compliance fines, Seongdong-gu imposed just two cases last year, totaling 890,000 won.

Each local government cites ambiguous laws and concerns about legal disputes with property owners. A city official explained, "The law stipulates that compliance fines can only be imposed on vacant homes that pose safety concerns, but the criteria are vague, so each district may interpret them differently," adding, "Moreover, demolition is difficult without the owner's consent."

Kangrae Ma, professor of urban planning and real estate at Chung-Ang University, emphasized, "The main reason local governments are unable to proceed with demolition is the potential for legal disputes with property owners," and added, "A system is needed in which demolition decisions by local governments are binding, but the state provides protection for public officials if they become embroiled in lawsuits."