Sites of 3,300 square meters or larger eligible in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon
Farmland and forests excluded as government pushes for faster urban housing delivery
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korea Land and Housing Corporation will launch a public solicitation Tuesday to purchase land for supply-adjustment stockpiling under the 2026 public land reserve program.
The move is a preemptive step to address the housing supply shortage in the Greater Seoul area. The government had earlier signaled, through its Aug. 13 housing measures, that it would secure idle urban land and use it to accelerate housing delivery.
The solicitation marks the first pilot under a new supply-adjustment land stockpiling initiative — an expansion of the existing public land reserve system, which has focused mainly on acquiring sites for public-interest projects such as roads and industrial complexes in cash-strapped local governments, to now proactively securing land for market stabilization.
Open to institutions, companies and individuals, the solicitation will accept applications for one month starting Sept. 29. Submitted sites will be reviewed for their suitability for public-interest use and appropriateness for public stockpiling, with the ministry planning to select purchases totaling 500 billion won ($369 million).
Eligible sites must be located within the Greater Seoul area — Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon — measure at least 3,300 square meters and be zoned for multi-unit residential construction as of the application date. Sites with existing structures, those encumbered by mortgages or seizure orders, and restricted land categories such as farmland and forests are excluded.
Purchase prices will be determined through negotiation with landowners, capped at the arithmetic average of appraisals conducted by two appraisal firms selected by Korea Land and Housing Corporation.
Landowners wishing to apply may submit the required documents — including a sale application form — in person at any of the corporation's four Greater Seoul regional offices, by mail or through its website (www.lh.or.kr) between Sept. 29 and Oct. 28.
Full details will be available on the corporation's website starting Monday in the official 2026 supply-adjustment public land stockpiling purchase notice.
Shin Yun-geun, the ministry's land policy director, said the government would "actively work to ensure that land secured through this supply-adjustment public land stockpiling initiative is swiftly put to use for housing supply in urban areas." He added that, as the first pilot of a public land reserve system aimed at housing supply, the ministry would "refine the program based on a wide range of feedback."
hss@heraldcorp.com
