The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 1st announced the "reasonable management plan for illegal buildings" to fully rectify illegal buildings that threaten public safety in order to carry out the new government's policy agenda. If people illegally add extensions such as verandas or make unlawful repairs like "room-splitting," the government plans to repeatedly impose and increase compliance fines until the structures are restored to their original state.
According to the ministry, the number of illegal buildings nationwide stood at about 148,000 as of the end of last year, up from 89,000 in 2015 and increasing by 5,000 to 6,000 each year.
Illegal buildings are structures built, repaired, or changed in use without procedures such as building or change-of-use permits (notifications) under the Building Act, or buildings that violate building standards such as sunlight, building line, structure, evacuation, fire prevention, or landscaping. There are various types, including unauthorized extensions of verandas, rooftop structures, or first floors; unauthorized repairs that increase the number of units, known as "room-splitting"; and unauthorized changes of use.
In particular, among residential illegal buildings (83,000), small-scale detached, multi-household, and multi-family homes account for a majority (46,000, 54.7%), and the issue is being cited as severely worsening the residential environment for low-income people and others living in non-apartment housing.
Along with analyzing the root causes of illegal building problems, the government will push for temporary legalization of small-scale residential illegal buildings based on on-site feedback gathered through relay roundtables with experts, local governments, and private groups.
Taking into account that illegal acts by landlords or sellers lead to harm to tenants or buyers, the government will actively cooperate with the enforcement of the "Special Act on the Arrangement of Certain Buildings," which is under discussion in the National Assembly, and, subject to conditions such as ensuring safety, will induce the legalization of existing small-scale residential illegal buildings.
First, the government will ease major building regulations that cause illegal buildings to occur. Considering people's lifestyles, it will adjust sunlight standards in exclusive and general residential zones, and it will exclude from floor or area calculations rain-shelter structures installed on external stairs and rooftops of old houses and boiler rooms in multi-household and multi-family homes.
To curb illegal acts that occur after completion, the government will introduce a post-completion inspection system for buildings and establish a building performance verification system under which building experts routinely assess whether a building is illegal. It will strengthen checks of violations listed on the building ledger at the time of contract and prepare a legal basis to specify liability for damages, such as rights of recourse, against those who committed violations, including the previous building owner even after the transfer of ownership.
If violations that occurred before the contract date are found, the government will recommend a special clause in the contract assigning responsibility for restoration to the seller, while also operating a separate information-provision website for illegal buildings so that the general public can easily check building violation information.
To prevent suspected violations in advance during building design and construction, the government will prepare design and supervision inspection guidelines; include unregistered contractors who abet violations among those subject to penalties; and continue to educate and inform building owners and architects about illegal acts and related penalty provisions.
The government will also establish a constant management and oversight system to correct illegal buildings. ◇ Development of an AI analysis system for aerial photo changes to immediately identify building violations ◇ strengthening the investigative authority and role of local governments ◇ support for budget use and development of work systems for processing tasks are included.
The government will also improve the system for imposing compliance fines to induce quick restoration of illegal buildings. All local governments will repeatedly impose compliance fines until corrections are completed, and if noncompliance continues, they will increase the amount each year. In addition, when violations are committed for profit-making purposes such as renting, the government will expand the surcharge rates and the scope of targets.
From the public's perspective, considering cases where carrying out restoration procedures and bearing the expense of restoration are difficult, the ministry said it will ease some cost burdens such as expert reviews when demolishing buildings for restoration, and it will fully guide related procedures during correction orders, including distributing a standard demolition plan.
An official at the ministry said, "Cases of illegal buildings occur because the economic gain is large," and added, "We must stop such illegal acts because they cause safety problems such as the deterioration of the residential environment."
Minister Kim Yun-deok of the ministry said, "This measure is a fast-track task of the new government and was prepared to quickly resolve the difficulties of people suffering from illegal buildings," adding, "We will work closely with the National Assembly and local governments to ensure flawless implementation."