South Korea passes laws to repurpose urban idle assets for housing

The South Korean National Assembly has passed six legislative bills aimed at accelerating housing supply by utilizing underused urban assets. These laws provide a legal foundation for converting aging public offices, closed schools, and abandoned buildings into residential areas and essential living infrastructure.

Key provisions include the ‘Special Act on the Complex Development of Aging Public Offices,’ which allows for the creation of public housing alongside cultural and sports facilities in buildings over 30 years old. The legislation also targets unused school sites and long-term idle public development land for restructuring into housing. Additionally, a new ‘Vacant Building Maintenance and Support Special Act’ will integrate vacant houses, unused non-residential buildings, and abandoned construction sites into a unified management system to mitigate fire and collapse risks.

To encourage development, the government will offer incentives such as relaxed floor area ratios and building coverage ratios for those who donate renovated vacant buildings to local governments. The sunset clause for urban public housing complex projects has also been extended by three years, until the end of 2029.