Gov't to move in 100,000 public housing units in Greater Seoul by end of next year

Supply update unveiled at first regular housing briefing

Public purchase rentals in regulated zones to be bought without limit

Integrated housing support center to be established this year

Development levies waived for early ground-breakings through next year

Kim I-tak, first vice minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, speaks at the first regular housing supply briefing held at the Seoul Government Complex on Friday. [Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport]

The government plans to move in 100,000 public housing units in the Greater Seoul area by the end of next year to stabilize the jeonse and monthly rent market. The push aims to ease the rental housing crunch stemming from Seoul by expanding short-term supply. The government will also significantly strengthen the residential safety net by introducing a new universal public rental housing model and 20-year long-term private rental housing.

The Office for Government Policy Coordination and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held the first regular housing supply briefing on Friday, announcing key policy tasks and implementation plans to stabilize the jeonse and monthly rent market.

The government's immediate target is to move in approximately 100,000 public housing units in the Greater Seoul area from the fourth quarter of this year through the end of 2027. The breakdown includes 9,000 publicly sold units, 8,000 construction rental units, 29,000 purchase rental units, 45,000 jeonse rental units and 5,000 publicly supported private rental units.

The move-in push will kick off in earnest with the third-generation new town in Incheon Gyeyang starting in December, and public purchase rentals within regulated zones in the Greater Seoul area are set to be acquired without limit through 2027.

On-site support to unlock private-sector supply will also ramp up before year's end. An integrated housing supply support center — bringing together the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service — will be established this year to provide unified support for housing supply permits and financing. An incentive waiving development levies for projects that break ground early will also be offered through next year.

The government will also press ahead with a new rental housing model — universal public rental housing — to build a tighter residential safety net. A 20-year long-term private rental scheme and a "jeonse-monthly rent safety trust" to ease the shift from jeonse to monthly rent will also be introduced. Tenant protections will be reinforced through the operation of a safe jeonse application and improvements to the public rental move-in process.

Key upcoming tasks for stabilizing the jeonse and monthly rent market. [Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport]

Tailored support for different groups of housing consumers will also be expanded. For young people, a new "youth universal jeonse rental" program with eased support limits will be created at a scale of 5,000 units per year, and the income thresholds and eligible age range for youth monthly rent support will be relaxed. The supply of dormitories and shared housing will also be increased.

For newlyweds, the income requirements for moving into public rental housing will be eased to twice the level applied to single applicants, lowering the barrier to entry. For older residents, 3,500 senior welfare housing units will be supplied annually.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said housing supply in Seoul has been gradually recovering as a result of its rapid supply measures. Earlier, the government expanded the Korea Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation guarantee limit for housing construction businesses from 86 trillion won ($63.8 billion) to 100 trillion won, and implemented a series of policies to boost short-term supply — including eased construction and parking standards for urban-type residential buildings, relaxed floor area restrictions for multi-unit and multi-family housing, and improved pricing methods for newly built purchase rentals.

As a result, cumulative housing permits in Seoul from January through August this year reached 40,000 units, up 40 percent from the same period last year and the highest in the past five years. Ground-breakings in Seoul over the same period also hit 21,000 units, a 41 percent year-on-year increase and the highest in four years. For general housing where short-term supply is possible, permits in Seoul surged 84 percent and ground-breakings jumped 87 percent over the past six months, with the ministry saying the market's supply infrastructure is improving rapidly.

"The jeonse and monthly rent market continues to face difficulties due to a decline in move-in volume, and the government recognizes this situation with the utmost seriousness," First Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim I-tak said. "We are concentrating all efforts on market stabilization around two pillars — expanding supply and strengthening the residential safety net. Going forward, we will preemptively respond to factors destabilizing the housing market while ensuring sufficient housing supply that people can feel, firmly securing residential stability for the public."

hwshin@heraldcorp.com