Stirring 'Shuttle Bus Zones'... 50 Trillion Won Expected to Flow In

[Anchor]

Joining us for Monday's Friendly Economy is reporter Han Jiyeon. Reporter Han, the real estate market in the southeastern parts of the Seoul metropolitan area is already buzzing due to the influence of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix employees, isn't it?

[Reporter]

Yes, that's correct. In the real estate market, a new coined term, "shuttle-seogwon" (shuttle bus zones)—referring to areas near subway stations where commuter shuttle buses for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix run—has already emerged.

When combining performance bonuses and company loans, more than 50 trillion won is expected to flow into the market next year.

According to an analysis, out of a total of 53.6 trillion won, performance bonuses could account for 23 trillion won, and company loans could make up more than 30 trillion won.

In the case of Samsung Electronics, it has decided to pay 10.5% of this year's operating profit as special performance bonuses for its semiconductor division. With the operating profit forecast at around 360 trillion won, the scale of the bonuses alone reaches 37.8 trillion won.

However, after taxes and considering restrictions due to the distribution of treasury stock, the actual amount of money released into the market next year is estimated to be around 7.6 trillion won.

In addition, under a recent labor-management agreement, a new housing loan system has been introduced that lends up to 500 million won at a low interest rate of 1.5% per year.

Considering the proportion of employees who do not own homes, about 58,000 employees could borrow up to 500 million won each, bringing the total loan scale to 29 trillion won.

It is reported that Samsung Electronics has not set a separate limit on the total amount.

SK Hynix has also decided to give 10% of its operating profit as performance bonuses. Applying the operating profit forecast of 260 trillion won, the bonus pool is 26 trillion won, and the actual take-home pay after taxes is 15.6 trillion won.

Adding to this the company loans of up to 100 million won, about 17 trillion won is expected to be released for SK Hynix employees alone.

[Anchor]

The representative neighborhood is Dongtan, and surrounding areas have already risen significantly and are expected to rise further, right?

[Reporter]

In particular, the company loan funds of up to 30 trillion won fall into a regulatory blind spot, which could weaken policies aimed at curbing real estate overheating and raise equity issues among actual homebuyers.

First of all, loan regulations such as the Debt Service Ratio (DSR) are typically applied to commercial bank loans, but company loans provided to employees as welfare benefits are excluded from these regulations.

As a result, employees can take out company loans and then additionally obtain mortgage loans, making so-called "yeong-kkeul" (pulling together every last penny) possible.

Indeed, analyses suggest that the recent strength in housing prices in so-called "shuttle-seogwon" areas like Suwon, Dongtan, and Pyeongtaek is being influenced by expectations of this pending capital.

The government maintains the position that it is difficult to directly intervene in corporate welfare systems.

Consequently, while loan regulations are being tightened on one hand, employees of large conglomerates are able to bypass the regulations and obtain hundreds of millions of won, leading to controversy over equity.

[Anchor]

Lastly, let's talk about savings accounts.

[Reporter]

The Youth Future Savings Account, which offers a maximum annual interest rate of 7 to 8% and can yield an effect of up to around 19% per year when including government contributions and tax-free benefits, begins accepting applications today (June 22).

The Youth Future Savings Account is a three-year maturity product where participants can freely deposit up to 500,000 won per month. The government adds a contribution of 6 to 12% to the deposit amount and waives interest income tax. This is explained to have an effect similar to signing up for a savings account with an annual rate of 13.2 to 14.4% for the general type, and 18.2 to 19.4% for the preferential type, such as for employees of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The target audience is young people aged 19 to 34 who meet certain income requirements. For this application period, those born between January 1, 1991, and August 7, 2007, are eligible.

For those who have completed military service, the duration of their service is deducted from their age calculation.

As long as their income from the previous year is verified, they can sign up regardless of their employment status.

The application period is for two weeks until July 3.

For the first five business days, from today until June 26, applications will be accepted under a five-day rotation system based on the last digit of the applicant's birth year. After that, from June 29 to July 3, anyone can apply.

Applications can be made non-face-to-face through the participating institutions' apps without separate documents.

While duplicate enrollment with the existing Youth Leap Account is not allowed, switching over is possible.

If there is a rush of applicants, priority will be given to those with lower incomes rather than on a first-come, first-served basis.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.