The government has decided to classify unauthorized buildings that have not received usage approval or inspection as 'vacant homes,' allowing local governments to demolish them for redevelopment or reconstruction and has begun to amend related regulations. Local governments typically operate projects to demolish and manage vacant homes that have not been used or inhabited for more than a year.
However, unauthorized dwellings have not been included as vacant homes under related laws and have been left unattended without being demolished by local governments. There are more than 20,000 unauthorized dwellings in Seoul, and in the Busan city center, unauthorized shanties built by refugees during the Korean War in 1950 still remain.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 10th, the Ministry plans to amend the enforcement decree of the 'Special Act on Management of Vacant Homes and Small Dwellings' (vacant home special law) and is proceeding with legislative notice. The reason for the government's change to the enforcement decree is to include unauthorized dwellings that have not received usage approval under the Building Act or usage inspection under the Housing Act as vacant homes.
Currently, a vacant home is defined under the vacant home special law as a dwelling that has not been used or inhabited for more than a year. In addition, local governments can carry out management projects after demolishing such vacant homes. However, the situation has persisted where unauthorized dwellings were not included as vacant homes, preventing local governments from even demolishing them. This is intended to resolve such issues by changing the enforcement decree.
A Ministry official noted, 'Unauthorized vacant homes have been left unattended in some local governments like Busan, and there are many calls to demolish and manage them,' adding, 'It is necessary to establish a management plan for vacant homes and carry out management projects, so we decided to change the enforcement decree.' If the enforcement decree is amended to include unauthorized dwellings as vacant homes, local governments will be obligated to conduct surveys and establish management plans.
As of the end of 2020, there are 26,769 unauthorized dwellings in Seoul. Seongbuk District has the largest number at 3,189, followed by Yongsan District (2,720) and Nowon District (2,386), each with over 2,000 unauthorized dwellings. In Busan, unauthorized dwellings built by refugees during the Korean War in 1950 are still left unattended. Shanties built halfway up the mountains are concentrated in districts like Busanjin, Dong, Jung, Seo, and Yeongdo, posing safety problems like a risk of collapse. According to a survey conducted last year by the 'Old City Mountain and Road Council,' which includes five original city districts of Busanjin, Yeongdo, Dong, Jung, and Seo, there are 5,922 vacant homes in this area. It is estimated that unauthorized vacant homes account for more than half of this number.
Son Mi-hye, chief of the Planning and Audit Office of Dong District in Busan, said, 'When we surveyed vacant homes in 2019, there were about 1,300 vacant homes in Dong District alone, but excluding unauthorized dwellings that were not included in the law, only about 400 homes were counted as vacant.' She added, 'Two-thirds of all vacant homes have been left unattended and not included in the statistics.'
Lee Yong-man, a professor at the Department of Real Estate at Hansung University, said, 'If vacant homes are left unattended, crime-prone areas form around them, and slums develop, often causing harm to the residents of nearby dwellings.' He emphasized, 'As intended by the government’s enforcement decree revision, unauthorized dwellings should also be included as vacant homes so that they can be managed by local governments through demolition and maintenance projects.'