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| Gukil Gosiwon in Jongno-gu, central Seoul, where seven tenants died in a fire in November. /Yonhap |
By Bahk Eun-ji
Rooms at Seoul's "gosiwon," or a low-cost single-room type of accommodation, should be at least 7 square meters in size and each room must have a window, according to Seoul City's new housing rule, Monday.
The measure followed a fire at Gukil Gosiwon building in central Seoul last November, where seven tenants died and more than 10 were injured. According to the city government's data, most of these decrepit housing facilities have tiny rooms of an average 3.3 square meters lining both sides of a narrow corridor, and nearly 70 percent of the rooms do not have windows, not to mention a sprinkler system.
The rule will be applied first for lodgings undergoing remodeling. The city will recommend the central government change the relevant law, so the measure can be applied to all gosiwon to be built in the future.
The city government also budgeted 1.5 billion won ($1.33 million) to support installment of sprinklers at 70 old gosiwon facilities. Installing sprinklers was not mandatory before July 2009, so many accommodations built before the time are not equipped with the system.
