Daegu's 3,536 Aging Apartment Units Left as Eyesores for 1-4 Years After Demolition, Construction Yet to Begin... City Council Member Lee Wonwoo: "Stalled Redevelopment Sites"

Daegu City Council member Lee Wonwoo (People Power Party, Dong-gu 1) used a five-minute floor speech at the first plenary session of the 329th extraordinary session on October 8 to point out problems at redevelopment sites where residents have been relocated and buildings demolished, but construction has yet to begin after several years. He called for Daegu City to take proactive action.

“Across Daegu, a total of 3,536 housing units in redevelopment projects have yet to begin construction despite the completion of demolition,” Lee said. “Sites throughout Daegu, including Sinam-dong in Dong-gu (Sinam Redevelopment Promotion District), as well as Paldal-dong, Daebong-dong and Bongdeok-dong, have been left as eyesores for anywhere from one to more than four years.”

Lee Wonwoo, Daegu City Council member

Lee continued, “Behind the stalled sites, which have been held up by rising construction costs, the burden of interest rates and conflicts between housing association members and contractors, are many association members who have poured in their life savings and are living amid mounting financial costs and uncertainty. The damage is also serious, including safety threats and harm to the city’s appearance caused by damaged fences, sites becoming crime-ridden areas, and abandoned materials.”

“Daegu’s unsold housing inventory has recently fallen to the low 4,000s, and the housing supply over the next two years is expected to remain below 6,000 units,” Lee said. “If the stalled redevelopment sites are left unattended for an extended period, they will eventually lead to greater social costs in the form of a serious housing supply gap in the city center and a decline in the region.”

Lee urged Daegu City not to leave the problem of stalled redevelopment projects solely to private parties, noting that the causes of delays differ from one site to another. He proposed strengthening a tailored support system for every stage of redevelopment, including a comprehensive survey of projects that have yet to begin construction after demolition, diagnosis of the structural causes of delays, mediation of construction cost disputes, and administrative coordination.

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