▲ Seoul Apartment Complex
As the first expiration dates approach next year for long-term jeonse (lump-sum housing lease) units introduced by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to provide stable housing for homeless citizens, controversy is brewing between existing residents demanding to stay longer and the principle of cyclical supply for public rental housing.
While some residents cite surging housing prices, jeonse rates, and aging populations to demand extended residency periods or options to purchase the homes, the city government maintains that extending the original contract terms would reduce housing opportunities for other homeless applicants waiting to move in, raising fairness issues.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the 30th, long-term jeonse units totaled 37,712 households as of the end of June. This breakdown includes 20,746 pure long-term jeonse units, 10,661 units converted from national public rentals, and 6,305 units converted from public rentals.
Launched in 2007 to supply housing to homeless citizens for extended periods at or below 80 percent of nearby market jeonse rates, long-term jeonse allows residents to renew contracts every two years for a maximum stay of 20 years.
The initial resident recruitment public notices and lease agreements explicitly stated a maximum residency period of 20 years without options for conversion to purchase.
The housing was not supplied under the premise of permanent residency rights or future ownership transfer.
Households reaching this maximum limit will begin to emerge for the first time starting next year, growing rapidly from 310 households next year to 682 households in 2028, 1,747 in 2029, 2,452 in 2030, and 4,170 in 2031.
A total of 9,361 households will sequentially reach their maximum residency limits over five years.
Some residents argue that considering local housing and jeonse prices have spiked significantly while they lived in the long-term jeonse units for nearly 20 years, and that many residents who were middle-aged upon moving in are now entering senior years, changed economic conditions must be taken into account.
They contend that the residency period should be additionally extended or that residents meeting certain conditions should be given opportunities to purchase the homes so they can continue living in their current neighborhoods.
Citing that long-term jeonse II "Mirinae Jib" for newlyweds offers opportunities for purchase conversion upon meeting certain conditions, some also argue that similar measures should be arranged for existing long-term jeonse properties.
However, the Seoul Metropolitan Government maintains that it is difficult to apply the same criteria because existing long-term jeonse and Mirinae Jib differ in policy objectives, target occupants, and support conditions.
In particular, the city expressed its stance against the change, stating that uniformly extending residency periods for existing long-term jeonse would correspondingly reduce opportunities for homeless individuals newly moving into those units, creating fairness issues and weakening the cyclical structure of public rental housing.
The average deposit for long-term jeonse residents is 349 million won, which is about 54 percent of the average jeonse price of 648 million won for apartments in Seoul.
Since the purpose of the program is to supply secured public housing to the next homeless applicants after supporting residential stability for up to 20 years at costs lower than market rates, claiming rights beyond this is unreasonable, according to the city.
Authorities also worry that granting exceptional contract extensions or purchase conversions to some residents reaching maturity could trigger fairness disputes with past occupants who already moved out or secured other housing after accepting the exact same conditions.
They caution that if other residents reaching expiration in the future make similar demands successively, the predictability of the initially established contract conditions and public housing supply plans could be undermined.
At the same time, some point out that addressing the housing instability of vulnerable groups among expiring residents—such as the elderly or low-income earners who struggle to secure new housing on their own—remains a task for Seoul to resolve.
Experts advise that rather than implementing sweeping contract extensions, the city should consider measures linking residents to other public rental housing or welfare systems based on individual circumstances such as income and assets.
Kim Ji-yeop, a professor in the Department of Architecture at Sungkyunkwan University, said, "Long-term jeonse housing is secured based on various urban planning incentives, such as raising zoning classifications and floor area ratios, to secure public assets that can be supplied at lower-than-market rates for 20 years. That benefit must be shared by a large number of citizens."
Professor Kim added, "If these benefits are vested in specific individuals, the justification and purpose of urban planning incentives—such as zoning upgrades secured to provide long-term jeonse housing—will be lost. This neither aligns with social justice nor is it fair."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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