The government will toughen regulations on apartment reconstruction, making it more difficult for old apartments with few structural stability problems to be rebuilt.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on Tuesday that it will change the scoring of the assessment on eligibility for reconstruction, so structural stability will be weighted more heavily and housing conditions less. The new regulation will be implemented by as soon as the end of March. 

A ministry official said reconstruction was often allowed even for structurally stable apartments, causing an enormous waste of social resources. 

Currently, mayors or county governors conduct on-site inspections and make decisions about reconstruction, but the government has decided to involve public organizations in the inspection process.

Apartments already granted conditional permission for reconstruction will now have to go through a safety review by the Korea Infrastructure Safety Corporation.

The tougher regulations will have significant impact on about 103-thousand households in the Yangcheon, Nowon and Songpa districts in Seoul, which are eligible for reconstruction this year under the government's 30-year limit.