Gyeonggi Province to Establish Standards for Secondhand Smoke Complaints in Multi-Unit Housing

Gyeonggi Province is pursuing revision of the 'Gyeonggi Province Multi-Unit Housing Management Regulations Standard' to reduce secondhand smoke damage in multi-unit housing by specifying complaint processing procedures for management entities such as management offices and enhancing residents' restraint from smoking within units and damage prevention.

The province announced on the 17th that starting in October, it will collect input from cities/counties and multi-unit housing-related organizations, and plans to prepare a revised version of the 'Gyeonggi Province Multi-Unit Housing Management Regulations Standard' containing these measures by the end of this year.

The main points under review include △establishing standard investigation forms to enable management entities to systematically verify secondhand smoke damage when complaints arise △issuing guidance on refraining from smoking within units targeting the relevant buildings/lines when secondhand smoke damage occurs △preparing guidance materials to prevent secondhand smoke damage △designating smoke-free zones and creating separate smoking spaces taking unit complex conditions into account.

Currently, laws and guidelines related to multi-unit housing management allow management entities to verify secondhand smoke damage and recommend cessation of smoking when damage occurs. However, there is a lack of specific standards in practice regarding what procedures should be followed to address complaints and what follow-up measures should be taken in case of repeated damage.

In particular, since units are private spaces, there are limitations in directly cracking down on or sanctioning smoking behavior. Current regulations also use expressions such as "efforts" and "recommendations" regarding smoking within units, and it has been pointed out that there are limitations in responding to repeated secondhand smoke damage and conflicts between residents.

In fact, secondhand smoke-related complaints received by multi-unit housing management entities in the province increased from 17,409 cases in 2022 to 21,148 cases in 2023, 28,583 cases in 2024, and 30,641 cases in 2025.

Following this, the province held a meeting of experts in legal affairs, housing management, and conflict resolution on August 26 to discuss practical improvement measures to prevent secondhand smoke damage in multi-unit housing.

Based on the discussion results, Gyeonggi Province plans to focus the revision on systematizing management entities' response and inducing voluntary participation by residents rather than uniformly regulating smoking within units, thereby preventing secondhand smoke damage and conflicts between residents.

Lim Gyuwon, director of the Multi-Unit Housing Division of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "Smoking within units in multi-unit housing can lead not only to secondhand smoke damage to neighbors but also to conflicts between residents," adding, "We will supplement the system so that management entities respond more systematically to complaints and residents can consider each other, thereby reducing secondhand smoke damage in multi-unit housing."

The 'Gyeonggi Province Multi-Unit Housing Management Regulations Standard' is a standard local ordinance that presents standards for management or use of multi-unit housing to protect residents and maintain residential living order. Multi-unit housing subject to mandatory management will pursue revision of management regulations suited to the specific conditions of their unit complex by referring to the revised standard.