Noise complaints surged more than 60 percent last year, as people spend more time at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a state environment promotion agency said Wednesday.

Korea Environment Corp. (KECO) said its hotline dedicated to the matter received 42,250 complaints in total last year, a 60.9 percent year-on-year increase.

Inquiries for on-site inspections to determine the level of noise came to 12,139, which grew 52.3 percent from 7,971 cases in 2019.

Noise disputes have long been an issue in a country where only around 20 percent of housing types are individual, stand-alone houses, according to a 2019 tally by Statistics Korea. The percentage of such homes is even rarer in the crowded and expensive capital, where the portion halves to around 10 percent.

But as the pandemic forced people to stay at home for longer than they used to and work from home in many cases, complaints about noise have increased greatly, the Ministry of Environment said.

"Noise disputes need a lot of attention from local governments," Park Yong-kyu, an official from the ministry, said. "Also we need to foster a culture where residents of a shared building are considerate and understanding toward each other."

To help better resolve disputes, the ministry has made the Environmental Preservation Association provide counseling and on-site inspections regarding noise disputes in Seoul, along with KECO, which has been providing services nationwide. (Yonhap)