From Next Month, Housing Subscription Will Be on 'Cheongyak Home' Instead of 'Apartment To You'

▲ Korea Real Estate Board 'Cheongyak Home' service screen (Provided by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Starting next month, apartment subscription and winner confirmation will be conducted on the 'Cheongyak Home' site operated by the Korea Real Estate Board.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and the Korea Real Estate Board announced on the 21st that subscription services through the Korea Real Estate Board's 'Cheongyak Home' will begin on the 3rd of next month, following the passage of the partial amendment to the Housing Act at the Cabinet meeting. Considering the public nature of subscription services, MOLIT decided to change the subscription system operator from the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute to the public institution Korea Real Estate Board and has been preparing for the transfer of subscription services since August last year.

With the introduction of the new system, real-time verification of subscription eligibility has become possible. Before applying for subscription, applicants can easily check eligibility criteria such as household member information, period of being without a home, and subscription savings account duration. MOLIT expects that this will reduce cases of cancellation of winning due to input errors by applicants and eliminate the inconvenience of applicants having to individually verify their subscription eligibility information.

This change in the subscription system is also expected to greatly reduce inconveniences for holders of KB Kookmin Bank subscription accounts, who currently make up about 22% of all holders. These holders have had to apply for subscriptions through 'KB Kookmin Bank Housing Subscription' and check winning status separately on the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute's 'Apartment To You' site. However, from now on, both application and winner confirmation will be possible through Cheongyak Home. MOLIT also plans to unify special supply for employees of institutions relocated to Sejong City and innovation cities, currently managed by the Korea Housing Association, under Cheongyak Home.

▲ Screen showing subscription restrictions queried on 'Cheongyak Home' by Korea Real Estate Board (Provided by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

Additionally, the number of screen transitions during the subscription application process, which was previously 10 steps, will be drastically reduced to 5 steps, and a responsive web service will be applied to enhance convenience for mobile users. Furthermore, information on existing apartments near subscription complexes, market prices, prices of recently supplied complexes, and subscription competition rates will be provided as GIS-based services to assist applicants in making informed decisions.

MOLIT plans to strengthen the public function of subscription services through this transfer, while also enhancing continuous monitoring and on-site inspections to prevent fraudulent subscriptions and enable policy formulation in response to changing circumstances.

Yoo Eun-cheol, Head of Subscription Management at the Korea Real Estate Board, urged, "The Cheongyak Home site is scheduled to open on February 3rd, and on February 1st and 2nd, connections with 15 financial institutions and financial networks are planned, so banking services related to tenant savings will be limited. Special caution is required."

Hwang Yoon-eon, Director of the Housing Fund Division at MOLIT, said, "We expect that this transfer of subscription services will improve convenience for citizens applying for apartments and significantly reduce damage to genuine demanders caused by disqualified winners."