From "The Mysterious" to "Residential Space"...speed up the maintenance of vacant houses

Empty house for years...I'm afraid it'll be abused as a place of crime.Gyeonggi-do Provincial Government to Implement Vacant Maintenance Support Project from 2021
1,240 vacant houses in the city center in Gyeonggi-do (as of last June)
Proposals to supplement the system, such as 'relaxing property taxes' when demolishing vacant houses

[Anchor]
Empty houses left unattended in the city center have a negative impact on the city's beauty as well as security,

Gyeonggi Province is speeding up its maintenance work to recreate empty houses as spaces for residents.

Reporter Choi Myung-shin reports.

[Reporter]
It's an empty house in a residential area in Dongducheon.

The outer walls are twisted and wooden boards are torn here and there without a sacred place.

There's a lot of garbage in the building.

After being left unattended for many years, I am worried that it will not only harm the beauty of the village but also be abused as a place of crime.

[Shim Woo-hyun / Jihaeng-dong, Dongducheon-si, Gyeonggi-do: It was a very bad place for children living nearby because it was not good and people like that could enter.]

Since 2021, Gyeonggi Province has been carrying out a maintenance project to remove empty houses in the city and use them as resident spaces such as parking lots, gardens, and shelters.

However, there are still more than 1,200 vacant houses in the city center.

In addition to directly supporting the owner's maintenance costs, the province has also allowed cities and counties to repair vacant houses themselves from this year.

In addition, we changed it so that we can receive support at any time without setting a separate application period.

Considering the reluctance of vacant house owners to demolish due to property taxes, he also suggested the government to supplement the system so that property taxes can be eased even after demolition.

[Woo Sung-je / Head of the Gyeonggi-do Urban Regeneration Team: If land is provided in the public interest, let's limit the property tax growth rate to 2% per year. So let's get owners involved....]

is also pushing for a plan to apply the government's special "second home" special case to empty houses in Pocheon and Dongducheon, areas of interest in population decline, along with Gapyeong-gun.

I'm YTN's Choi Myung Shin.