The "green remodeling" support program to improve energy efficiency in private buildings has been revived after two years. The government judged that reducing carbon emissions from private buildings is necessary to meet its greenhouse gas reduction target.
According to the construction industry and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the 2026 budget plan allocates a total of 11 billion won, including 8 billion won for interest support for private green remodeling and 3 billion won for private green remodeling consulting.
The green remodeling program supports the government's efforts to promote a green transition, such as improving the energy efficiency of buildings. Since 2013, the government has supported energy-saving construction costs for public buildings and part of the construction-related loan interest (up to 4% annually, up to 5% interest for low-income households) for private buildings.
However, for private buildings, support centered on apartment window replacement, and because there were many required documents to submit, performance declined and new support was halted starting last year.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), the number of approvals for the private building green remodeling support program increased from 352 in 2014 to 8,551 in 2017 and 12,005 in 2020, before falling to 8,381 in 2023.
Government support funding also rose from 2 billion won in 2014 to 1.658 billion won in 2017 and 8.296 billion won in 2020, before decreasing to 8 billion won in 2023.
The government will resume the green remodeling support program two years after halting new support. As it set a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target to reduce greenhouse gases by 53% to 61% by 2035 compared with 2018, the importance of cutting carbon from private buildings has grown.
According to the National Assembly Research Service, as of May this year, private buildings account for 96% of domestic buildings. Among them, buildings 10 years or older account for about 79%.
Starting next year, the government plans to support consulting that analyzes how much building owners of private buildings can practically reduce carbon emissions through the green remodeling program.
An official at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) said, "In the case of public-sector buildings, the support program is proceeding well since the government is the implementing entity, but for private buildings, performance has been weak and many have said improvements are needed," adding, "Along with the existing interest support benefits, we will also provide consulting to bolster efforts to reduce carbon emissions from private buildings."