▲ Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon delivers opening remarks at the Hope Talk for Housing Ladders in Long-Term Jeonse Housing held at Seoul City Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 8th.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has once again ruled out the possibility of extending the residency period for long-term jeonse housing, addressing recent demands by some current residents for term extensions.
Mayor Oh made the remarks during the "Hope Talk for Seoul's Housing Ladder: From Long-Term Jeonse to My Own Home" event held at the Seoul City Hall grand conference room, just over a year before the very first 20-year terms for long-term jeonse housing are set to expire.
The event was attended by 13 current and former residents who have successfully purchased their own homes or are preparing to do so after living in long-term jeonse housing, as well as housing and real estate experts.
"There is some noise because some people want to continue living here (even after the residency period expires)," Mayor Oh said, criticizing the demands as "unconscionable pushing."
"The Seoul Metropolitan Government will not make exceptions (to moving out after expiration)," he emphasized, adding, "This is because there are many people waiting to move into long-term jeonse housing, and they are also Seoul citizens."
Mayor Oh also noted, "There are many people who successfully moved out and bought their own homes voluntarily before filling the 20 years."
According to a public perception survey on long-term jeonse housing commissioned by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and conducted by Hankook Research from August 10 to 19 among 1,000 Seoul citizens, 73.9% expressed support for the mandatory departure of residents upon reaching the 20-year limit.
Kim Jun-hyung, a professor in the Department of Real Estate at Myongji University who attended the event, said, "The issue of the 20-year limit is something that should be resolved by building more long-term jeonse housing," adding, "Given the massive risk of the (applicant) waiting list, extending the term would be a burdensome choice for the Seoul Metropolitan Government."
The Seoul Metropolitan Government emphasized that long-term jeonse housing is functioning as a "housing ladder" for homeless citizens to achieve homeownership.
The city first introduced mid-to-large-sized long-term jeonse housing in 2007 as a first in the country, supplying a total of 38,296 units to date and supporting housing stability for a cumulative 45,715 households.
As of this year, the average deposit for long-term jeonse housing stands at 293 million won, which is about 41% of the average jeonse price for apartments in Seoul, recorded at 711.78 million won (based on KB Real Estate data for August).
The Seoul Metropolitan Government analyzed that the reduced housing cost burden has led resident households to save money and prepare for housing subscription accounts.
In fact, according to the 2022 SH Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation Public Rental Housing Resident Panel Survey, 69.9% of households living in long-term jeonse housing saved an average of 625,000 won per month, and the subscription account ownership rate reached 83.7%.
The survey showed that the 1,708 households that moved out of long-term jeonse housing between 2016 and 2021 had an average residency period of 8 years and 4 months, and 72% of them lived in their own homes after moving out.
This is 12 percentage points higher than the homeownership rate of movers from overall public rental housing, which stands at 60%.
Since the introduction of the system, the number of households that moved out before their contract periods expired (as of this month) reached 15,529, accounting for 34% of the cumulative supply based on SH figures.
Among them, 82.4% were voluntary departures at the request of the contractors to purchase their own homes or move to private jeonse housing.
At today's event, real-life experiences were shared by citizens who reduced housing costs through long-term jeonse housing and successfully achieved homeownership or prepared to upgrade their housing through savings and subscriptions.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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