President Lee Visits Jangwi-dong Public Redevelopment Site, Promises "Incentives Like Floor Area Ratio for Early Progress"

President Lee Jae-myung visited a public redevelopment site in Jangwi-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, today (November 4) to inspect the project's progress.

Amid growing public concern over housing prices in the capital region, the visit is seen as an effort to highlight his administration's commitment to "rapid housing supply," one of its key housing policy pillars.

In his opening remarks at a meeting with government officials, including Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Hong Ji-seon, and on-site project officials, President Lee urged for faster progress, stating, "While the public redevelopment model has various merits, the problem is that it takes far too long. They say it takes at least 10 years, and often 20 or even 30 years, so I feel we need to pick up the pace."

In particular, he said, "(Please pay attention to) administrative procedures so that projects can make early progress. If projects proceed ahead of schedule, I hope various incentives—whether floor area ratios or financial support—will be strengthened."

He also noted, "In the case of public redevelopment, there are fewer concerns about corruption. The fact that this administration has promised to provide incentives will also significantly help in terms of speed and project feasibility."

Addressing the National Assembly, he urged, "(Processing related bills) seems to be delayed much more than expected. Promptly passing pending legislation will be of great help in accelerating the pace of projects on the ground."

President Lee stated, "The housing price issue is one of our country's major core concerns that everyone worries about. From the government's standpoint, stabilizing home prices in the capital region is more important than any other task."

He continued, "South Korea faces a fundamental problem of concentration in the capital region. Land (in the capital area) is limited, yet the population keeps growing, which negatively impacts housing prices."

He also explained, "Since 2022, the number of housing permits has plummeted, creating a supply cliff. Recently, the pace has recovered and permits have increased significantly, but those on the ground say that realistically, the effects will only become visible by 2028 or 2029 at the earliest."

President Lee reiterated his commitment to rapid supply, saying, "We will accelerate the dispersion of the capital area's population and balanced regional development. We are also making all-out efforts to increase the supply of new available housing sites."

Prior to the meeting, President Lee toured the Jangwi District 9 public redevelopment project site.

After receiving a status briefing from the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), President Lee showed keen interest, asking about floor area ratios and inquiring why parts of Jangwi District 4 had been excluded from redevelopment.

Upon hearing an explanation about an area where redevelopment has been underway for 18 years, he remarked, "When private redevelopments form associations and push forward, they fight every time and get delayed," and emphasized the vital role of administrative authorities in apartment layout and planning during redevelopment.

Furthermore, during the briefing, he pointed out, "When the public sector carries out (redevelopment), the speed increases and the room for corruption decreases, yet there are still many moves to pursue private-led projects. This is all due to so-called corruption."

When told that LH staffing had been cut significantly during the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, he asked, "Didn't I tell you to hire more personnel?"

(Photo: Cheong Wa Dae Press Corps, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.