Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport creates dedicated newborn special supply quota of 10%; newlyweds and other birth households to benefit
Households with children under age 2 will be able to improve their chances of winning private housing apartment subscriptions through a newly created newborn special supply category. The change is expected to broaden homeownership opportunities for newlyweds and other birth households, starting with recruitment announcements issued June 15.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said it has amended the "Rules on Housing Supply" to establish the newborn special supply category in private housing apartment subscriptions. The revised rules take effect June 15 as part of efforts to expand housing support for households that have had children.
Under the amended rules, a special supply category has been created for households with children under age 2 applying for private housing units with an exclusive use area of 85 square meters or less.
Previously, some units within the newlywed and first-time buyer special supply categories were set aside on a priority basis for households with newborns — 8 percentage points out of the 23 percent allocated for newlywed special supply, and 2 percentage points out of the 9 percent for first-time buyer special supply. However, some birth households were unable to access the newlywed special supply because they did not meet eligibility requirements, such as the condition that the couple must have registered their marriage within the past seven years.
To address that gap, the government carved out a dedicated 10 percent allocation as a newborn special supply, allowing birth households to receive subscription benefits regardless of whether they meet the seven-years-from-marriage requirement.
Under the new category, half of the allocated units will go to households earning at or below 130 percent of the average monthly urban worker income, 20 percent to those earning up to 160 percent, and the remaining 30 percent to those earning above 160 percent but holding real estate assets valued at no more than 331 million won (about $217,000).
The system is also designed to give applicants multiple chances to win. When competition results in unsuccessful applicants, they will first enter a lottery limited to residents of the relevant area, followed by an open random draw, and then proceed through additional draws in order of priority within the special supply allocation. The new special supply rules apply to recruitment announcements issued June 15 onward.
The amended rules also improve the existing local special supply system, enabling local governments to provide housing more quickly to people relocating to their regions and employees of companies that have moved there.
Under the revision, the 10 percent of units that city and provincial governors could previously designate for agency-recommended special supply based on their own published criteria can now be implemented immediately upon a governor's approval, with additional allocations also permitted.
Jang Woo-cheol, the ministry's housing policy director, said the changes would expand subscription opportunities for birth households and put in place mechanisms to improve settlement conditions for companies relocating to regional areas. "We will continue to do our best to ensure that marriage and childbirth are rewarded in the housing subscription system and that regional areas receive preferential treatment," he said.
smh@heraldcorp.com
