Korea Housing Urban Guarantee Corp. President Choi In-ho (second from right) speaks at a meeting held Thursday. [HUG]
Korea Housing Urban Guarantee Corp. President Choi In-ho (second from right) speaks at a meeting held Thursday. [HUG]

Korea Housing Urban Guarantee Corp. President Choi In-ho visited the Suwon Imok district Thursday — the largest project financing guarantee site in the Greater Seoul area — to conduct an on-site inspection and hold a roundtable with housing developers, the state-run guarantor announced Friday.

The visit was part of Choi's broader effort to engage directly with the field. It came as housing ground-breakings have been delayed by a contraction in real estate project financing loans, and was intended to boost momentum at sites pressing ahead with stable development backed by HUG guarantees while encouraging housing supply in the metropolitan area.

"Ensuring a stable supply in the Greater Seoul housing market requires smooth capital circulation at large-scale project financing sites and rigorous on-site management," Choi said at the roundtable. "HUG will do its utmost to provide tailored financial support by actively incorporating the difficulties developers face in the field — including rising construction costs — into our policy so that housing can be delivered on time."

Choi also cited the government's housing supply expansion package, known as the Sept. 7 measures, and its non-apartment supply plan, expressing strong determination to swiftly fulfill the tasks assigned to HUG under both initiatives.

"We will move with urgency on the tasks entrusted to HUG — including special project financing guarantees, pre-sale guarantees and construction financing support for non-apartment units — so that new supply models for urban lifestyle housing and officetels, which can be brought to market quickly, take root," he said.

He added that HUG would "mobilize the full capacity of the organization to get stalled projects — those approved but yet to break ground — back on track as soon as possible, working closely with our Field Grievance Resolution Support Center, which captures real-time feedback from developers, and lead the way on Greater Seoul housing supply."

Meanwhile, HUG has recently outlined a vision to reposition itself as an institution that actively underpins housing supply rather than simply providing guarantees. The corporation plans to leverage internal data to offer villa market price information and accelerate the adoption of AI across its operations as part of a broader push for organizational innovation.


hss@heraldcorp.com