Sooyoung Kim of West District Council: "As Aging Multi-Family Homes Increase, the Budget Remains Stagnant"

Multi-Family Housing Support Budget Frozen Since 2022
"Budget Increase Needed for Residential Welfare"

Sooyoung Kim, Member of the West District Council, Gwangju Metropolitan City, Jeonnam Province, has called for an increase in the budget for multi-family housing support projects, pointing out that, despite a surge in demand, the related budget has remained unchanged for several years.

On July 16, during the 342nd temporary session of the West District Council, Kim stated in a five-minute free speech, “Eighty-four percent of multi-family homes, where most West District residents live, are aged buildings that have been in use for over 10 years since passing inspection.” Kim stressed the need to expand support to improve resident safety and the housing environment.

According to Kim, between 50 and 70 housing complexes apply for the multi-family housing support project every year, but on average, only 13 complexes are selected for actual support.

On the other hand, the project budget has been frozen at 400 million won for the fifth consecutive year, from 2022 through this year.

Sooyoung Kim, Member of the Seo-gu Council of Gwangju Metropolitan City, Jeonnam.

Kim pointed out, “Although the demand for multi-family housing maintenance and repairs continues to rise, the budget is not increasing.” She noted, “Many complexes are unable to receive support, which is fueling resident complaints.”

In particular, Kim cited as a problem the fact that the budget for the multi-family housing facility improvement project funded by Gwangju Metropolitan City, Jeonnam Province, has been reduced by 109.9 million won this year compared to last year.

Kim emphasized, “The budget for the multi-family housing support project is directly related to the safety of residents’ lives,” and argued that a budget increase should be actively considered to secure the safety of most West District residents and realize residential welfare.

She added, “A practical support system must be established to address the increasing number of aging multi-family homes, and the scale of the project should be expanded so that more complexes can receive the benefits.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.