South Korea mulls phasing out semi-basement flats after deaths caused by floods in Seoul

South Korean authorities have decided to gradually phase out semi-basement flats after several people drowned inside one of the claustrophobic apartments during a record-breaking downpour in Seoul this week. The tiny subterranean homes, known as "banjiha", which featured in the Oscar-winning film Parasite, are normally inexpensive to rent but are vulnerable to floods, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, which announced its intention to phase them out. The local administration announced that it will stop providing permits for the construction of such houses. 

The Seoul Metropolitan Government stated that they are planning to raise the issue with the national government about outlawing the use of basements or semi-basement houses for residential uses. According to official statistics, about 200,000 families reside in such flats, which account for approximately 5% of Seoul's housing stock, Al Jazeera reported.

The officials claimed that at least four out of the twelve people who lost their lives in this week's downpours, the heaviest in more than a century, drowned after their basement apartments were flooded with rainwater. 

Activists in Seoul condemn government's housing policy

The deaths of a disabled woman and a teenager, who were trapped in their basement house, triggered public outrage in Seoul. President Yoon Suk-yeol paid a visit to their devastated house before urging government representatives to do more to assist the weak and disadvantaged during natural disasters.

Meanwhile, the activists in the city slammed the government's housing policy, saying that these were preventable tragedies. “We condemn the government’s negligence regarding those marginalised people in this housing,” said the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice in a statement, as per Al Jazeera. 

Rain creates havoc in South Korea, over 3,700 buildings flooded

According to reports, a total of 3,796 residences and buildings were flooded, most of them in the greater Seoul area. Nearly 6,000 individuals have left their homes across the nation, and the majority of them are staying at nearby gyms and schools, the officials claimed.

The central part of the country remains under the Korea Meteorological Administration's heavy rain warning even if the deluge warning has been lifted for the greater Seoul area and Incheon. Meanwhile, an alert has been issued for South Chungcheong Province, where precipitation is expected to reach between 30 to 40 millimetres per hour.

Image: AP