Mayor visits Gaebyeong-dong youth housing complex
City targets 74,000 youth housing units by 2030
'Will expand financial and rent support beyond supply'
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it is reviewing plans to expand the transit-oriented area designation for its youth housing program to increase the supply of available sites.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited the Gaebyeong Saejium youth housing complex in Gaebyeong-dong, Guro-gu on Wednesday, pledging to "build a solid housing ladder for young people so they can ease the burden of monthly rent and deposits and build up assets." He added that the city would "focus its administrative capacity on policies that young people can actually feel — not just housing supply, but financial and rent support as well."
To enable additional completions under the Youth Safe Housing program, the city is considering expanding the eligible transit-oriented area radius from 250 meters to 500 meters — roughly a 10-minute walk — from a subway station, which would open up more developable sites. Through this expansion, the city plans to supply an additional 17,500 Youth Safe Housing units by 2030, bringing the cumulative total to 46,000 units.
Youth Safe Housing is Seoul's flagship youth residential program, providing quality transit-oriented housing to young people without homes and newlywed couples at below-market rates. As of late July, 101 complexes totaling 33,621 units had been completed. Public rental rates are set at 30 to 50 percent of surrounding market prices, while private rental units are offered at 75 to 85 percent of market rates depending on the type. The first round of public rental recruitment this year drew an average competition ratio of 105 to 1.
The Gaebyeong Saejium complex near Gaebyeong Station comprises 605 units in total — 96 public rental units, 177 units pre-purchased by the Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH), and 332 private rental units. On Wednesday, Mayor Oh received a briefing from Lee Byeong-cheol, Seoul's housing policy director, before touring resident facilities including a laundry room and fitness center as well as actual living spaces.
At the meeting, residents said the complex's location — just a seven-minute walk to the subway station — made commuting easy, and that below-market rents and caps on rent increases had reduced their housing costs. They added that with housing expenses no longer consuming more than 30 percent of their monthly income, they could now plan for new futures, including changing jobs or getting married.
Concerns were also raised about securing renewal deposits amid tightening household loan regulations, and about the possibility of being excluded from policy loan eligibility after marriage due to combined spousal income. Mayor Oh explained that the Youth Safe Housing special supply allows residents to renew their contracts within a certain range even if their income rises after moving in, and expressed support for expanding financial assistance to stabilize housing for young people.
Since April, the city has raised the interest subsidy ceiling on construction financing for private developers from a maximum of 2 percent to 4 percent over three years to offset a decline in new permits, and revised its operating guidelines to temporarily ease the public contribution rate by 5 percentage points for three years. At the meeting, Mayor Oh said that "to achieve a dramatic increase in supply, tax and interest rate measures must be in place so that private developers can invest with less equity capital — that is the only way to resolve the one and only drawback of Youth Safe Housing, which is fierce competition."
Seoul plans to supply 74,000 youth-tailored housing units by 2030 by adding approximately 25,000 new units to existing programs, including Youth Safe Housing. New supply will include 10,000 Seoul-style starter studio units and 2,000 Didimol housing units. At the same time, the city will expand the supply base for youth-specialized housing, co-living facilities, and registered private rental co-living houses in transit-oriented areas and business districts.
The city is also moving to lower actual housing costs. This year, the youth monthly rent support program was expanded to 200,000 won ($141) per month, covering 28,000 recipients annually. A new program providing 80,000 won per month in building management fee support will also be introduced for applicants who were not selected. The income threshold for rental deposit interest support will be raised from 40 million won to 50 million won per year, with interest subsidies of up to 3 percent on loan amounts provided to 5,000 people annually.
"Listening to young people today, I was reminded once again that a home is not simply a place to stay — it is the starting point for preparing for the future," Mayor Oh said. "We will focus our administrative capacity on policies that young people can actually feel, including not just housing supply but also financial and rent support."
shy@heraldcorp.com
hope@heraldcorp.com
