'Salaries hit rock bottom after merger and reforms'

'No morale, no housing supply'

Korea Land and Housing Corporation President Lee Sung-hoon responds to lawmakers' questions about the corporation's rising debt at a National Assembly audit of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and its affiliated agencies on Monday. [Yonhap]
Korea Land and Housing Corporation President Lee Sung-hoon responds to lawmakers' questions about the corporation's rising debt at a National Assembly audit of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and its affiliated agencies on Monday. [Yonhap]

Korea Land and Housing Corporation President Lee Sung-hoon said Monday that a large-scale increase in staffing is urgently needed to keep the corporation's housing supply expansion on track, and that he is actively pressing the government to approve the additional headcount.

Lee made the remarks at a morning session of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee national audit of LH and other agencies under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, in response to a question from People Power Party lawmaker Eom Tae-young about LH's staffing plans as its project workload grows.

"The volume of projects has increased and the types of projects have become far more complex," Lee said. "We are now in a situation where we need to bring on a large number of staff." He added that LH is in discussions with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and other government agencies on a staffing expansion plan, and that he is continuing to push for an aggressive hiring proposal to be reflected as soon as possible.

Lee also said government fiscal support is urgently needed to address LH's deteriorating financial position caused by rising construction costs.

"Prices have surged sharply over the past few years, and construction costs have risen even more steeply — by nearly 50 percent," he said. "As apartment building costs climb, development projects are no longer generating any profit." He went on to say that debt is growing quickly while recovery remains slow, and that LH is requesting fiscal support from the government and working with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to have that support reflected in the budget.

Lee also identified improving employee compensation and morale as a key priority for strengthening the corporation's ability to deliver on housing supply.

"Through the LH merger process and successive reform measures, employee salary levels have fallen to the bottom tier," he said. "If employee morale drops, housing supply policy cannot be properly carried out." He added that boosting staff morale is essential to achieving both organizational reform and housing supply goals, and that he would work actively to resolve the issue of pay and compensation.


hwshin@heraldcorp.com