Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
Noise complaints in apartments rise amid COVID-19
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By Lee Hyo-jin
By Lee Hyo-jin
Noise complaints are on the rise in apartment complexes as more people spend more time at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a lawmaker, Sunday.
Rep. Yang Kyung-sook of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea disclosed data from the Korea Environment Corporation (KEC), which included information on the yearly number of noise-related complaints in apartments nationwide.
The number has soared this year. A total of 36,105 complaints were reported from January to November ― a 51 percent increase compared to the same period in 2019. The data also showed that the figure has been increasing steadily over the past few years, from 19,278 cases in 2015 to 23,843 cases in 2019.
However, due to lack of solutions, many conflicts remain unresolved and some go from bad to worse.
In late November, a resident of an apartment complex, who did not disclose information on the location of the apartment, wrote on the internet that they had been “bombed with human excrement by downstairs neighbors over noise-related complaints.”
“Around midnight on Nov. 22, a mad person defecated in front of my door and smeared it on our lock and doorbell,” read the post, which included photos from the incident. The writer suspected the culprit to be the downstairs neighbor, saying, “We've had some conflicts over noise, but we smoothed them out through talks involving the management office.”
The following day, a man claiming to be the downstairs resident wrote a post denying the claim. He also claimed that his family, including his pregnant wife, have been suffering from excessive stress for months.
“The nightmare started the day we moved in earlier in July. They never stop running day and night,” he wrote. He added that the problem remained unresolved even after he had filed reports with police and the mediation center under the National Noise Information System.
“With only 20 personnel at the mediation center, it takes a considerable amount of time for them to review the disputes,” Yang said. She proposed a revision to the Multi-Family Housing Management Act, which would make it mandatory for each apartment complex to organize a residents' mediation committee.