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Busan Metropolitan City’s Proactive Vacant House Policy Delivers Results: Busanjin-gu Wins Presidential Commendation for Vacant House Renewal Achievements

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that, with the City’s full administrative and financial support, Busanjin-gu received the Presidential Commendation—the highest honor for basic local governments—at the “2025 Awards for Outstanding Achievements in Vacant House Renewal,” hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. In addition, the official in charge of the Vacant House Bank in Jung-gu received the Ministerial Commendation from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

These awards were the result of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s rigorous evaluation of local governments nationwide, assessing achievements in promoting vacant-house renewal and revitalizing local communities. The recognition reflects the City’s proactive efforts to establish vacant-house renewal measures in advance and to identify and nurture outstanding districts and counties.

In November last year, the City prepared the “Busan-Style Innovative Measures for Vacant House Renewal” and formulated an implementation plan. In cooperation with districts and counties, it has pursued tailored vacant-house renewal projects aimed at resolving vacant-house issues and transforming downtown spaces through intensive renewal efforts.

As the control tower for addressing vacant-house issues, the City has actively gathered difficulties faced by districts and counties, identified institutional improvement tasks, and continuously expanded budget support to ensure projects proceed in a stable manner.

In particular, the City repeatedly proposed to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport that unlicensed vacant houses be included as eligible targets for renewal, and successfully led to amendments to relevant regulations (Enforcement Decree of the Special Act on the Maintenance of Vacant Houses and Small-Scale Housing).

In addition, to alleviate financial constraints in the field, the City significantly increased the demolition support per unit from KRW 24 million through last year (2024) to KRW 29 million this year (2025), providing substantial and practical assistance.

In line with the City’s initiative to establish a dedicated vacant-house team in January, Busanjin-gu created a “Vacant House Renewal Unit” as of August 1, securing specialized expertise within its dedicated organization and taking the lead in advancing vacant-house renewal work.

Busanjin-gu also took proactive steps ahead of amendments to relevant regulations (Enforcement Decree of the Special Act on the Maintenance of Vacant Houses and Small-Scale Housing) by revising its ordinance in December 2023 to establish a legal basis for renewing unlicensed vacant houses in advance. This enabled the District to pursue measures that enhanced both administrative creativity and residents’ sense of tangible benefit, such as converting demolition sites into community vegetable gardens.

In the individual category, an official in Jung-gu received the Ministerial Commendation in recognition of planning and operating the nation’s first vacant-house brokerage policy, the “Vacant House Bank,” from January 1 this year—further demonstrating the excellence of Busan’s vacant-house administration.

The “Vacant House Bank” program is an innovative model that prevents budget waste and promotes the circulation of vacant houses by having administrative agencies directly support brokerage fees and repair costs. Properties registered on the District’s website are brokered by designated real estate agents, and after a tenant is confirmed, the house is repaired according to the needs of the incoming resident. The policy operates under a “contract first, repair later” support mechanism.

Building on this achievement, the City plans to significantly increase next year’s (2026) vacant-house renewal budget from KRW 7.4 billion to KRW 9.3 billion and swiftly renew 270 vacant houses annually.

Going beyond demolition projects undertaken to date, the City will actively invest the Local Extinction Response Fund to pursue comprehensive, customized space-creation projects tailored to each area’s characteristics, including establishing creative studios for artists and cultural practitioners.

In addition, the City will strengthen projects to directly purchase vacant houses to expand community-based social infrastructure (SOC) closely tied to residents’ daily lives, and will diversify utilization methods—such as converting renewed vacant houses into shared accommodation facilities for both domestic and international residents—thereby maximizing administrative capacity to revitalize urban areas and boost the local economy.

Bae Seong-taek, Director General of the Housing & Architecture Bureau, said, “This achievement is a shared result of our City’s proactive policy and the implementation capacity of our districts and counties working in synergy,” adding, “We will continue to actively support the expansion of dedicated organizations by district and county to enhance expertise in vacant-house renewal, and we will transform vacant houses into new local assets to provide citizens with a more comfortable and safer living environment.”