Korea Building Seismic Retrofit Cost & Support Calculator
Combine actual structural retrofit, reinstatement, professional-service, relocation, and contingency quotations, then apply verified 2026 Korean evaluation and certification support to estimate total cost and owner burden.
Enter written project quotes
This tool does not infer retrofit cost from floor area. Enter quantities specified by the structural engineer and written quotes. The hypothetical example only demonstrates the arithmetic and is not a market average.
1. Building and evaluation status
Use, structure, area, and floors describe the project and support unit-cost display. They do not diagnose seismic performance or create a cost factor.
㎡
Enter the floor area of one retrofit project building.
floors
units
Used only for the equal-share planning result.
Select from a qualified professional report, not a self-assessment.
2. Structural retrofit quote lines
Enter the engineer-specified quantity and contractor quote in matching units. Leave unused methods at zero.
Steel braces / frames
Engineer-specified locations and quoted unit cost
KRW 0
locations
KRW
RC shear walls / wall strengthening
Confirmed wall quantity and quoted unit cost
KRW 0
locations
KRW
Column / beam jacketing
Confirmed member count and quoted unit cost
KRW 0
members
KRW
Foundation / connection strengthening
Quoted packages for foundations, anchors, or connections
KRW 0
packages
KRW
Other structural strengthening
Other quoted structural work without duplication
KRW 0
packages
KRW
3. Related works, services, and relocation
Enter non-duplicated payable amounts on one consistent VAT basis. Use the certification body quote for the certification fee.
KRW
Quoted finish removal and reinstatement after structural work.
KRW
The first eligible line under the 2026 certification support mode.
KRW
KRW
KRW
The second eligible line under the 2026 certification support mode.
KRW
KRW
Temporary works, permits, surveys, or other non-duplicated costs.
%
Applied to the full quote subtotal; enter 0% to 30%.
4. Support programme and approval status
The 2026 certification mode covers only evaluation and certification fees. For another local programme, enter the confirmed eligible amount, rate, and cap from its notice.
Verified 2026 support formula
90% of the performance evaluation fee up to KRW 27,000,000, plus 90% of the certification fee up to KRW 9,000,000. Structural construction is not included in this default programme formula.
A building seismic retrofit cannot be priced reliably by multiplying total floor area by an informal rate per square metre. Two buildings with the same size and structural system may need very different work because their drawings, concrete strength, reinforcement layout, soil and foundations, target performance, occupied-work constraints, and finish reinstatement differ. This calculator therefore does not diagnose seismic performance or select a retrofit method. It organises quantities designed by a qualified structural professional and prices supplied in actual written quotations.
Enter steel braces, shear walls, column or beam jackets, foundation or connection work, and other structural packages as separate quantity-and-unit-price lines. Then add finish reinstatement, seismic performance evaluation, structural design, supervision, certification, temporary relocation, and other documented project costs. The result separates total project cost, support-eligible and non-eligible cost, estimated or approved support, net owner burden, and an equal-share illustration.
What each cost field represents
Structural retrofit lines
Multiply the locations, members, or lump-sum packages shown in the professional design by contractor quote prices. Keep an unknown price at zero instead of inventing an average.
Demolition and reinstatement
Include ceilings, walls, floors, and building services removed or relocated for brace, wall, or jacket work. Confirm whether the structural quote already includes these items.
Evaluation, design, supervision, and certification
Keep these professional services separate because support eligibility differs by item. The verified 2026 certification programme does not treat every service as eligible.
Relocation, closure, and other project costs
Use evidence-based planning figures for resident relocation, business interruption, temporary works, permits, surveys, and other costs caused by the project.
Verified 2026 seismic-safety certification support formula
Official supplementary demand-survey notices published by Gwangjin-gu in April 2026 and Gangnam-gu in May 2026 describe the same Ministry of the Interior and Safety linked support structure. The verified items are a seismic performance evaluation fee and the seismic-safety facility certification fee. The programme is not a nationwide promise to pay 90% of structural retrofit construction, so the default mode never marks the construction lines as eligible.
Verified 2026 support rates and item-specific caps for Korean seismic-safety facility certification
Eligible item
Rate
Support cap
Owner portion
Seismic performance evaluation fee
90%
KRW 27,000,000
10% plus any excess above the cap
Certification fee
90%
KRW 9,000,000
10% plus any excess above the cap
The local notices describe privately owned buildings and exclude public buildings and buildings with unpermitted or otherwise unlawful alterations. A demand survey is followed by budget confirmation, application, evaluation or review, completion, settlement, and payment, so a calculator result does not establish selection or payment. Application windows and remaining budgets vary locally; confirm the current notice with the city, county, or district office responsible for the building.
Enter any other local retrofit programme manually
Article 16-2 of the Earthquake and Volcanic Disaster Countermeasures Act provides a basis for local-tax relief and differentiated insurance premiums intended to encourage seismic retrofit of privately owned buildings. It does not prescribe one national construction-subsidy percentage for every private building. If a local government or institution supports construction, design, or another item, read its notice for the eligible base, support rate, per-building cap, and restriction on duplicate support.
Change the programme to the custom local or institutional notice option.
Enter only the eligible amount confirmed by the notice and the administering office.
Enter the announced percentage and per-building cap. Use a zero cap only when the administrator confirms that no separate monetary cap applies.
Before selection, retain a planning or application status. After written approval, select approved and enter the confirmed support amount.
If the approved amount exceeds the formula result, recheck the eligible items, percentage, and cap instead of silently increasing the estimate.
Step-by-step use
Step 1 — Read the professional report
Select the performance status stated in the report. Before evaluation, use the planner only to budget evaluation or certification and never choose retrofit work on your own.
Step 2 — Enter designed quantities and quoted prices
Transfer quantities from the retrofit drawings and unit prices from the contractor proposal. A genuine lump-sum package can be entered as one package with quantity one.
Step 3 — Find omitted related costs
Add finish reinstatement, evaluation, structural design, supervision, certification, relocation or closure, and other costs once without duplicating items already included in a proposal.
Step 4 — Set contingency and support status
Use a contingency rate that reflects known site uncertainty, then select either the verified 2026 certification mode or a local programme whose notice you have checked.
Step 5 — Compare owner burden and sensitivity
Use eligible and non-eligible cost, net burden, equal-share illustration, and contingency scenarios at minus and plus five percentage points in budget meetings.
Worked hypothetical example
The figures below are a test quotation, not a market average or recommended retrofit design. Load the same figures with the hypothetical-example button, verify the arithmetic, and then replace every quantity, price, and status with information from the actual report and written proposals.
Hypothetical Korean seismic retrofit project cost and 2026 support calculation
Category
Calculation
Amount
Structural retrofit lines
Braces, shear walls, jackets, foundation, and other work
KRW 186,000,000
Direct construction
Structural work 186,000,000 + finish reinstatement 20,000,000
With the same pre-contingency subtotal, a 5% contingency produces total cost of KRW 300,300,000 and owner burden of KRW 266,100,000. A 15% contingency produces total cost of KRW 328,900,000 and owner burden of KRW 294,700,000. In this example each five-percentage-point increase adds KRW 14,300,000 entirely to owner burden because the eligible evaluation and certification bases remain fixed.
Use the result to compare like-for-like proposals
Normalise scope before comparing price
Check that the number of retrofit locations and member specifications match.
Align demolition, finish reinstatement, and building-service relocation scope.
Align temporary works, safety management, waste, access, and testing scope.
Use the same VAT basis, work period, and occupied-work assumptions.
Approve the allocation separately
The per-unit output divides net burden equally by the entered number of units or participants. It does not determine the lawful or agreed allocation under condominium bylaws, exclusive floor area, ownership shares, benefit received, a management-body decision, or a general-meeting resolution.
Why tax relief is not deducted from the result
Article 47-4 of the Restriction of Special Local Taxation Act, checked on July 29, 2026, contains acquisition-tax and property-tax relief for qualifying construction or major repair and acquisition-tax relief for a certified seismic-safety facility. Paragraph 1 provides, through December 31, 2027, an acquisition-tax exemption and property-tax relief consisting of two exempt years followed by three years at a 50% reduction, subject to statutory conditions and exclusions after ownership transfer. Paragraph 3 and Article 24-2 of the current Enforcement Decree set a 5% acquisition-tax reduction for qualifying construction or major repair followed by certification, with timing requirements including certification within 180 days after acquisition.
The tax amount still depends on whether the work legally constitutes construction or major repair, whether seismic confirmation and certification timing are satisfied, and the applicable tax base. The calculator does not mix a conditional tax benefit into a support grant. Add only a tax amount confirmed by the competent local-tax office to a separate financing plan.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Can I use this before a seismic performance evaluation?
A. You may prepare an evaluation or certification budget, but you must not finalise a construction budget before a professional identifies whether retrofit is required and defines the work quantities.
Q. Does the verified 2026 programme pay 90% of construction?
A. No. The notices checked for the 2026 seismic-safety facility certification programme apply 90% to the performance evaluation fee and certification fee. Use custom mode for construction only when a separate local notice expressly confirms it.
Q. Can the combined KRW 36 million cap be spent on one item?
A. No. Evaluation support is capped at KRW 27 million and certification support at KRW 9 million separately. The calculator does not transfer unused capacity between them.
Q. Why does the calculator require quotes instead of estimating from area?
A. Area and structural type cannot reveal the safe method, member quantities, site access, occupied-work constraints, or reinstatement scope. An automatic area price could mislead both safety and financing decisions.
Q. Is contingency eligible for support?
A. The verified 2026 default mode excludes contingency. For another programme, include contingency in the eligible base only when its notice and administrator explicitly allow it.
Q. Can I charge the displayed equal share to each unit?
A. No. It is only net owner burden divided evenly by the entered count. Actual allocation requires the applicable bylaws, ownership data, resolutions, and legal review.
Official references and update boundary
The statutes and programme terms below were checked on July 29, 2026. Local support depends on budgets and current notices, while the local-tax provision described above has a December 31, 2027 sunset date, so recheck every source at the application, acquisition, and construction dates.
Calculate with the report and quotations beside you
Use the hypothetical example to understand the calculation, then replace every quantity, price, programme, and approval status with actual documents. Review the itemised result with the designer, contractor, owners or management body, and competent local office so omitted costs and pre-approval assumptions remain visible.