PENALTIES AGAINST EMPTY HOMES

[Anchor Lead]

Population outflow is an on-going problem for local cities. Homes are left vacant and neglected in areas where people have moved out, causing concerns for accidents. From now on, homeowners who leave their homes empty without a good reason will be penalized with an enforcement fine.

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Homes in this alley behind a market are mostly vacant. Fences are erected between two buildings to deter entry. An old vacant house collapsed last month, compelling the district office to raze the structure forcibly. The collapsed building had leaned toward the house behind it, forcing the residents to evacuate the premises.

[Soundbite] Ahn Jeong-ro(Neighborhood resident) : "If someone was living there, he would have fixed it. But the home was left empty for many years before it collapsed."

The local governments of Seoul, Incheon, Daejeon, Gwangju and Busan studied the vacant home situation last year. It was found that Busan had the most number of empty houses at 5,069. About 30% of them are grade 3 and 4 vacant homes that can no longer be used as residences. These homes are not only unsanitary but also pose safety risks. In order to address this issue, an exemption law was revised to impose an enforcement fine on the homeowners up to twice a year, starting in October. If a local government’s safety measure or removal order is not followed, they will have to pay 40% and 80% of half the standard market price respectively.

[Soundbite] Prof. Jung Ju-chul(Dept. of Urban Engineering, Pusan Nat’l Univ.) : "This policy would be effective to a degree for people who abuse the system just for redevelopment gains. But there are homeowners who aren’t financially capable of taking care of their homes. The government should find subsidies for such homeowners."

Vacant houses. It's a social issue that has long cast a blight on surrounding neighborhoods and caused safety concerns. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to convince owners of empty houses to voluntarily take safety actions or demolish their properties.