Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visits the Gaebyong Sageium Youth Safe Housing complex in Guro-gu, Seoul, on Aug. 12, where he meets with young residents. [Yonhap]
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visits the Gaebyong Sageium Youth Safe Housing complex in Guro-gu, Seoul, on Aug. 12, where he meets with young residents. [Yonhap]

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will provide young residents with up to 400,000 won ($283) to cover real estate brokerage fees and moving costs.

The city announced Tuesday it is recruiting more than 4,000 participants for the second half of its youth real estate brokerage and moving cost support project, aimed at easing the housing burden on young people. Applications are open from Tuesday through Aug. 31 via the city's Cheongnyong Mongtang Jeongbotong youth information portal.

The program, which the Seoul Metropolitan Government has run since 2022, is designed to help young people who move frequently for school or work. Selected applicants receive up to 400,000 won — within the range of actual expenses incurred — once in their lifetime, covering brokerage fees, moving costs, or both. Applicants may also choose to claim only one of the two items.

Eligibility is open to housing-free residents between the ages of 19 and 39 who moved to Seoul or relocated within the city on or after Jan. 1, 2024. Applicants must live in a rental property — either a jeonse (lump-sum deposit lease) or monthly rent arrangement — valued at no more than 200 million won and must meet an income threshold of no more than 150 percent of the median household income based on national health insurance premium bills from July this year. For a single-person household, that corresponds to a pre-tax monthly income of around 3.85 million won.

However, those renting a home owned by their parents, recipients of livelihood, medical or housing benefits, and those who have already received equivalent brokerage or moving cost support from another institution are excluded.

If the number of eligible applicants exceeds the recruitment quota, the city will prioritize socially vulnerable groups and housing-insecure youth before selecting the remaining recipients in order of lowest income.

The city plans to screen documents and verify eligibility, select qualified applicants in October, and finalize the list after an appeals and supplementary documentation process, with payments expected around December.

Starting with this second-half recruitment, the city is also extending the eligible age for discharged mandatory service members by up to three years depending on their length of service, broadening access for veterans.

Those who served less than one year receive a one-year extension; those who served between one and two years receive two years; and those who served two years or more receive three years. Under this change, veterans with two or more years of service may apply up to age 42.

The city is also including tenants harmed by youth safe housing disputes and injured young veterans in the priority support category for the second half, to help them stabilize their housing situations and reintegrate into society.

The priority support category covers socially vulnerable groups — including people with disabilities, youth aging out of care, single-parent families, North Korean defectors, multicultural households, recipients of national merit, youth providing family care, teenage parents, victims of jeonse fraud, tenants harmed by youth safe housing disputes, and injured young veterans — as well as housing-insecure youth living in semi-basement units, rooftop rooms or study-room lodgings.

In the first half of this year, 17,602 people applied and 4,036 were selected, receiving an average of 317,000 won each. Priority support recipients accounted for 32 percent of those selected, or 1,307 people. An analysis of first-half applicants showed that single-person households made up 89.4 percent and those in their 20s accounted for 58.4 percent. Studio units were the most common housing type at 72 percent, and 44 percent of all applicants lived in homes with an exclusive use area of less than 20 square meters.

"We sought to lower the barrier to support by extending the age limit for veterans and expanding the priority support category, so that young people who need help can access it," said Myeong No-jun, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's housing bureau. "We will continue to identify housing support measures that young people can feel in their everyday lives."

Meanwhile, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced Aug. 12 that the city will supply a total of 74,000 youth housing units by 2030 to address housing insecurity among young residents. After visiting a youth rental housing complex in Guro-gu, Oh wrote on social media that he had "once again felt how desperate the issue of housing is for young people" and pledged to "bring together all of Seoul's capabilities to protect the housing ladder for youth." He added: "When monthly rent rises, young people cut back on food, put off self-improvement and give up on saving. As both home prices and rents climb, it has become even harder to build the seed money needed to move up to the next stage, no matter how hard you work. Seoul is laying each rung of the housing ladder so that young people can stably prepare for tomorrow."


cook@heraldcorp.com