Vacant house policy takes aim at derelict structures

Korea aims to halve the number of vacant houses in rural areas to 33,000 by 2027 by extending policy financing for their renovation and by making a special law and an integrated database to promote refurbishment and transactions.

Korea aims to halve the number of vacant houses in rural areas to 33,000 by 2027 by extending policy financing for their renovation and by making a special law and an integrated database to promote refurbishment and transactions, the agriculture ministry said Thursday.

Currently, the number of unoccupied, derelict houses in the countryside are tallied at around 66,000, with the figure on a constant rise in recent years amid a shrinking population and a growing number of people moving to cities in search of jobs and other opportunities.

Such properties have negatively affected the environment and efforts to revitalize rural areas.

Presenting a longer-term plan, the agriculture ministry vowed to launch a project in June to refurbish inhabited houses in cooperation with their owners and private firms in order to turn them into rental houses or public facilities, such as community centers.

The government will push to introduce policy financing for renovation moves, ease related regulations and enact a special law meant to strengthen their management, according to the ministry.

It also plans to establish a platform that provides comprehensive information about unused homes across the nation to boost transactions, it added. According to law, homes and structures in farming and fishing villages that remain unused for more than a year are defined as vacant.

Yonhap