Andong City is in the process of selling temporary housing to forest fire victims

Andong City, Gyeongsangbuk-do, announced on the 4th that it is pursuing the process of selling temporary residential manufactured homes provided to forest fire victims to those who wish to do so.

Last year, the city provided temporary housing, a temporary facility, to the forest fire victims, and received a letter of commitment from all the victims who moved in, stating that they would move out after living there for one year.

The city later extended the period of temporary housing use by another year, until April of next year, in response to requests from victims.

Since the beginning of this year, in response to the demands of victims and temporary housing complex land owners, we have prepared for the sale of temporary housing, which is public property, by following administrative procedures such as review of public property, change of use, and appraisal.

Last April, we informed the victims of the temporary housing sale plan through notices and text messages and surveyed their intention to purchase them.

At the time, the victims living in 258 buildings expressed their intention to purchase them, but the number of temporary housing units that actually applied for purchase later was 123 buildings.

The estimated price of temporary housing for sale was set at an average of 13 million to 14.7 million won per building. Costs for acquisition, transportation, installation, etc. must be borne by the purchaser.

The city plans to receive the first sale application by the 6th and prepare for the transfer in late October to early November after going through related procedures.

This application does not end the sale process, and we plan to pursue second and third sales in the future.

The city is also considering operating a post-management complex to move temporary housing to a certain area and manage it for victims who have not purchased the housing until the end.

Previously, the Andong City Forest Fire Damage Residents' Response Committee held a rally in front of Andong City Hall on the 3rd and demanded the withdrawal of the temporary housing sale policy.

The countermeasures committee insisted that the sale price of temporary housing be uniformly lowered to 5 million won per unit, and that the city support or bear the costs of relocation and administrative procedures.

Another forest fire-affected area complained that temporary housing was not being sold to the victims, but only Andong City was pushing for the sale.

Regarding this, Andong City's position is that in the case of Andong, the number of victims affected by forest fires is approximately 1,000 and the number of first temporary housing units installed is 964, making it difficult to simply compare with other regions where the number of temporary housing units is only 200 or less.

Additionally, it is explained that the sale of temporary housing is intended to help stabilize the housing of many victims and is limited to those who wish to do so.

The city plans to discuss with Gyeongbuk Province and prepare measures to stabilize the housing of the victims, such as holding a meeting to collect the opinions of victims who are opposed to the sale of temporary housing.

An official from Andong City said, "Temporary housing is a temporary facility from the beginning, and victims who do not want to purchase temporary housing have never been notified to leave. We know better than anyone the difficulties of victims of forest fires, and we will continue to consult and prepare housing measures to help them recover from daily life and stabilize their housing."