As part of its fast-track efforts to supply housing in the Seoul metropolitan area, the government will push to provide more than 230,000 additional housing units, including 100,000 units from new housing sites incorporating greenbelt areas.

The newly announced public housing sites will see the period leading up to construction cut by nearly half compared to the past, and major sites previously announced in the January 29 measures will also undergo swift related procedures to begin construction by 2030.

To encourage the recovery of the private sector, which accounts for more than 80% of housing supply in the metropolitan area, the government has also drawn up financial and tax special exemptions and deregulation measures to revitalize urban maintenance projects and expand the supply of general housing such as multi-family and row houses.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held a briefing at the Government Complex-Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul, today (August 13) and announced the "Measures for Rapid Housing Supply to Stabilize Jeonse, Monthly Rent, and Sales Markets" containing these details.

This latest set of measures focuses on enhancing the implementation of the September 7 supply measures from last year—which aimed to supply 1.35 million homes in the metropolitan area by 2030—while securing additional supply volumes and narrowing the time gap between the announcement of measures and actual supply.

Through these measures, the government projected an additional supply effect of "230,000 units plus alpha" in the metropolitan area.

Among them, about 100,000 units will come from new public housing districts.

In today's announcement, the government unveiled new housing districts: Gangseo District in Seoul (1,000 units), Dosim District in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province (21,700 units), and Gwangju Station Area District 2 in Gyeonggi Province (4,500 units).

The Gangseo District in Seoul is a site at Yeomchang Park that has been neglected for 20 years, with construction scheduled to begin in 2029.

The Dosim District in Namyangju is a site adjacent to Dosim Station on the Gyeongui-Jungang Line, scheduled to break ground in the first half of 2030, utilizing a greenbelt area within the target site where Korea University's Deokso Farm is located.

Gwangju Station Area District 2 in Gyeonggi Province also aims to break ground in the first half of 2030.

In addition to the three districts and approximately 27,000 units unveiled this time, candidate sites for additional public housing districts amounting to 73,000 units plus alpha will be announced within this year after procedures such as consultations with related agencies.

To prevent speculation related to this, the entire greenbelt areas in Seoul and metropolitan greenbelts adjacent to Seoul will be temporarily designated as land transaction permission zones until the new districts are announced.

To accelerate the supply utilizing public housing sites, a construction model will be established to significantly shorten the period from the announcement of new housing sites to construction from the existing 68 months to 37 months.

A system will be established to concurrently handle procedures by housing site development stage, such as approvals, compensation, and site preparation, while promptly conducting consultations with related agencies necessary for various impact assessments.

Urban supply sites totaling more than 60,000 units, including the Taereung Golf Course in Nowon-gu, Seoul, which were previously announced through the January 29 measures early this year, will focus on accelerating project speeds with the goal of commencing full construction by 2030.

The Taereung Golf Course plans to complete the World Heritage impact assessment regarding the surrounding Joseon royal tombs within this year, start preliminary site investigations early, and begin construction in September 2029.

The Gwacheon Racecourse and the former Defense Security Command site in Gyeonggi Province are also scheduled to break ground in December 2029 by concurrently pursuing the relocation of existing facilities and approval procedures while rapidly advancing site preparation.

Measures to support private maintenance projects—which serve as a major housing supply vehicle in the metropolitan area—in gaining momentum were also included.

Business sites that achieve prompt construction will be provided with financial and tax incentives, such as reductions in real estate acquisition taxes and a temporary upward adjustment in the acquisition price of rental housing provided as public contributions.

Relocation cost loans will be managed separately from financial institutions' total volume management targets, and the consent rate for establishing redevelopment associations will be eased from the current 75% to 70%.

Urban complex development projects, which allow for rapid supply in urban centers through the simplification of various procedures, will select and announce candidate sites totaling 10,000 to 20,000 units in Seoul during the second half of the year, while implementing support measures such as expedited approvals, tax exemptions, and deferred contributions.

Small-scale maintenance projects seeing increasing demand, such as street housing maintenance, will also see expanded construction through business expense support.

To drastically increase the supply of purchased rental housing that enables prompt supply in urban centers focusing on non-apartment housing, support measures have also been prepared for business operators, including reductions in acquisition and transfer income taxes and improvements to the price calculation method.

To improve conditions for supplying multi-family and row housing, floor area restrictions and height limits will be raised, construction fund loan limits will be expanded, and loan interest rates will be lowered.

A long-unused school site such as the former Gimpo Airport site in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, and aged government offices such as the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) Seoul Regional Headquarters in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, have been identified as targets for complex development, supplying 1,900 units.

For the younger generation lacking asset accumulation, about 15% of public sales will be supplied through equity-sharing or profit-sharing types to expand opportunities for homeownership, and "universal public rental housing"—where diverse income brackets can live long-term in high-quality housing in prime locations—will also be supplied in preferred locations such as the 3rd new towns' station areas and downtown Seoul.

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Park Sang-woo (Note: referring to the Ministry head, let's translate faithfully without altering names) stated, "To stabilize housing stability for the public, rebuilding the supply foundation solidly is more important than anything else," adding, "Under the principle of more swiftly executing what the public sector must do and boldly supporting areas where the private sector excels, we will do our best to sufficiently and timely supply the housing that the public wants in the locations they desire."
 

(Photo: Yonhap News)