'Empty home' crisis that led to pan-government task force

Empty homes have been a long-standing issue among advanced countries that first experienced population decline. To address this, the U.K., France, and others introduced the ‘Empty Homes Tax’ around 2000. This tax, which can reach up to 300% for homes vacant for over two years, encourages quick sales or rentals rather than prolonged vacancy. The ‘1 Euro Project,’ active in countries such as the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy, helps owners sell difficult-to-dispose homes for one euro on the condition that buyers remodel the property, benefiting those seeking affordable rural housing.

Japan also faces a significant empty home problem. As of October last year, there were 9 million empty homes (Akiya). Of these, 3.85 million—excluding villas or homes for sale or rent—are abandoned without purpose, doubling over the past 20 years. Despite efforts including the central government’s ‘Empty House Special Act’ and local governments’ ‘Akiya Banks’ (which offer free or low-cost housing), the growing number of vacant homes remains unmanageable.

With one of the world’s lowest fertility rates and fastest-aging populations, South Korea is also grappling with rising empty homes. Local governments are struggling to manage abandoned rural homes, while city centers are plagued by vacant properties left from failed redevelopment projects. Busan, a city known for its aging population, has the highest number of vacant houses in Korea, surpassing 5,000. Despite having only one-third of Seoul’s population, Busan’s abandoned homes outnumber those in the capital.

The government's efforts to track and manage vacant homes have been inconsistent. According to a 2020 housing census by Statistics Korea, 1.51 million empty homes exist nationwide, including unsold and newly built properties. Of these, 132,000 are “true” vacant homes, uninhabited for over a year. However, responsibility has been fragmented, with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport overseeing urban vacant homes, and the Ministries of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and Oceans and Fisheries managing rural ones. A pan-government task force, formed just last month, has begun organizing and demolishing vacant homes. To avoid following Japan’s example, urgent action is needed to fully grasp the scale of the issue.