Jangseong County Expands "Rural Vacant House Maintenance Project" with Support Up to 3 Million Won

Aerial view of Jangseong County Office, Jeonnam.

Jangseong County in Jeonnam announced on January 12 that it will expand support for the "Rural Vacant House Maintenance Project" starting this new year.

The "Rural Vacant House Maintenance Project" provides partial demolition cost support to residents who own rural houses or auxiliary buildings that have been unoccupied or unused for over a year and personally carry out their demolition.

The county has decided to increase the maximum demolition support from 2 million won per household to 3 million won this year, a 33% increase compared to last year.

If the building has a slate roof, an additional slate removal subsidy of up to 7 million won per household is available. Any excess costs must be borne by the owner.

To apply for support, residents must bring the building register or property registration certificate to the local township administrative welfare center. Applications will be accepted starting in February.

Jangseong County expects that the increased demolition subsidies for the "Rural Vacant House Maintenance Project" and the additional support for slate roof removal will further revitalize efforts to address vacant houses in rural areas this year.

According to recent data, there are a total of 542 rural vacant houses in the Jangseong area. Jangseong-eup has the most with 79, followed by Bukha-myeon with 70, and Nam-myeon with 61. Seosam-myeon has the fewest, with 35 vacant houses.

Since launching the "Rural Vacant House Maintenance Project" in 1998, Jangseong County has renovated a total of 1,452 houses as of last year.

Meanwhile, Jangseong County is also considering a plan to lease unused rural houses or buildings and utilize them for public purposes to more efficiently address the vacant house issue. If implemented as planned, this is expected to further accelerate the maintenance of vacant houses.

Kim Hanjong, Mayor of Jangseong County, stated, "We will systematically renovate neglected rural vacant houses to improve the village atmosphere and prevent various accidents such as fires," adding, "We will do our best to make Jangseong a rural area where people want to live and stay."