Seoul city announced on the 10th that its continuous proposal to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to allow “foreign tourist home-stay registration for buildings more than 30 years old” has been accepted, leading to a relaxation of related regulations.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will implement the revised guidelines for “foreign tourist home-stay business processing,” reflecting Seoul’s suggestions, starting from October 10. Accordingly, even buildings completed over 30 years ago can be registered if their safety is verified by architects, construction engineering service providers, safety diagnosis specialists, construction technicians, and other relevant professionals.
Previously, according to the “Urban and Residential Environment Maintenance Act,” concrete and other structures were classified uniformly as “old and defective” if they were over 30 years old, and other buildings over 20 years old, which led to frequent cases where registration was denied simply due to the building’s age, even if other requirements such as housing size and foreign language service provision were met.
Particularly, even buildings that had undergone remodeling or reinforcement work to secure safety were rejected as “over 30-year-old buildings,” eliciting persistent demands for reform from the tourism industry.
Reflecting these on-site needs, Seoul city has officially proposed to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism since last year, “allowing the registration of old buildings whose safety is verified by experts.” In February of this year, a meeting with experts was held to prepare an improvement plan, and in May, Mayor Oh Se-hoon directly announced the necessity for regulatory reform at the “100-Day Regulatory Abolition Performance Report,” leading to a nationwide public debate.
With this guideline revision, houses seeking to register for foreign tourist home-stays will be able to do so legally if they pass an expert safety review, regardless of their construction age. Seoul city believes this improvement will expand lodging options for foreign tourists and help revitalize the home-stay business.
Besides this proposal, Seoul is continuing to make various policy recommendations to improve the overall system of home-stays, such as expanding usage to include domestic tourists and strengthening business operators’ obligations for safety and hygiene management.
Jongwon Goo, Director of the Seoul City Tourism and Sports Bureau, said, “This guideline revision is a meaningful outcome where Seoul’s continuous proposal to resolve difficulties in the tourism field is reflected in government policy. We will continue to push for systematic improvements to provide more diverse accommodation choices and ensure a safe and pleasant lodging environment for foreign tourists visiting Seoul.”