[Anchor]
 
The government has announced plans to supply 1.19 million public housing units, including public rentals, by 2030. The key will be whether housing units that truly match actual demand are sufficiently supplied.

Reporter Lee Seong-hoon has the details.

[Reporter]

Foundation work is currently in full swing at the Goyang Changneung public housing district in Gyeonggi Province.

A total of 1,594 universal public rental housing units will be built here.

The newly introduced universal public rental housing units will feature larger floor plans, including an exclusive area of 84 square meters, and enhanced quality in terms of structure and finishing materials.

Eligibility criteria will also be relaxed so that not only vulnerable groups but also a diverse range of demand groups, such as the middle class, can reside in them.

The government's goal is to supply 190,000 such universal public rental units to preferred locations such as urban centers and areas near subway stations by 2030.

[Kim Yi-tak / First Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport : We will innovate housing quality and residential services to meet the eye-level of consumers, and transition to a regional-centered customized support system that takes into account life cycles and local conditions.]

Over the next five years, the government plans to supply 1.19 million public housing units, including public rentals and sales, with universal public rentals included, and allocate 920,000 of these units to the Seoul metropolitan area.

The volume available for occupancy from the fourth quarter of this year through the end of next year totals 150,000 units, including 100,000 units in the metropolitan area.

The government also plans to reorganize eligibility criteria to fit the conditions of vulnerable housing groups, youths, and the elderly, and integrate recruitment notices previously handled separately by each project operator to make the service easier to use.

The key is supply that matches demand.

While the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) plans to purchase 8,000 unsold provincial apartment units by next year, it has only secured about 2,300 units, remaining at just 30 percent of its target.

In addition, among LH's purchased rental housing units, more than 8,000 units have been vacant for six months or longer.

[Kim Jin-yoo / Professor, Department of Urban and Transportation Engineering, Kyonggi University : Rather than being too obsessed with volume, I think it is necessary to focus a bit more on whether the rents of the supplied public housing are affordable and whether the locations are preferred by people.]

How effectively the government can supply housing equipped with the locations, sizes, and rent levels desired by consumers is expected to be the core of achieving housing stability through public housing.

(Video Editing: Lee Sang-min, VJ: Jeong Han-wook)