Yoon vows to allow reconstruction of homes 30 years old or older without safety inspection

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Wednesday his government will allow the reconstruction of homes 30 years old or older even if they meet safety requirements in order to improve housing conditions and increase the home supply.

Yoon made the pledge during a policy debate with the land ministry and members of the public, the second in a series of government policy briefings marking the start of the new year.

“Our government will completely ease redevelopment and reconstruction regulations, he said during the session held in Goyang, just northwest of Seoul. “We will allow homes that are at least 30 years old to begin reconstruction right away without a safety inspection.”

Current regulations require a home to fail a safety inspection in order to be designated for redevelopment or reconstruction. Yoon said last month this has led people to want their homes to “become dangerous.”

Under the new measure, homes will be eligible for reconstruction if living conditions have deteriorated due to issues, such as a lack of parking spaces, excessive noise between floors and plumbing problems, according to officials.

In Seoul, the wards with the largest number of residential properties that are over 30 years old but fail to meet the safety-related requirement are Nowon, Gangnam, Gangseo and Dobong, in that order.

In the surrounding Gyeonggi Province, they are most numerous in Ansan, Suwon, Gwangmyeong and Pyeongtaek.

Yoon also vowed to abolish the system of levying heavier taxes on owners of multiple homes, saying the scheme has only harmed ordinary citizens.