Supply of 2,000 Housing Units for Youth and Newlyweds on Five National Lands Including Yongsan Retention Basin

Ministry of Economy and Finance Holds National Property Policy Deliberation Committee Meeting
Yongsan Retention Basin, Singil-dong Seoul Regional Military Manpower Administration, Namtaeryeong Military Quarters, Bondong Subangsa Military Facilities, Wirye Military Site, etc.
Supply of 2,000 Public Housing Units Including 840 Happy Housing and 1,240 Newlywed Hope Town Units

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The government plans to build 2,000 public housing units on five national lands, including Yongsan Retention Basin in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, and Wirye Military Site in Changgok-dong, Seongnam-si. Despite being located in station areas within Seoul and the metropolitan area, these national lands have long been underutilized. The government aims to supply housing on these lands to revitalize surrounding commercial districts and improve living environments.

On the 19th, the Ministry of Economy and Finance held the "2020 1st National Property Low-Value Review Committee" at the Government Seoul Office, chaired by Second Vice Minister Koo Yoon-cheol, and deliberated and approved four agenda items, including the "Selection of Public Office and Official Residence Complex Development Sites." The newly selected complex development sites for this year are ▲ Yongsan Retention Basin in Yongsan-gu (estimated project cost 395.3 billion KRW) ▲ Wirye Military Site in Changgok-dong, Seongnam-si (323.2 billion KRW) ▲ Namtaeryeong Military Official Residence in Namhyeon-dong, Gwanak-gu (194.4 billion KRW) ▲ Seoul Regional Military Manpower Administration in Singil-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu (135.7 billion KRW) ▲ Subangsa Military Facility in Bondong, Dongjak-gu (97.9 billion KRW). The total project cost amounts to 1.1465 trillion KRW, and each development site will pursue a complex development of public offices, official residences, Happy Housing, and Newlywed Hope Town.

Regarding the development sites, the Ministry of Economy and Finance explained, "Located in Seoul and the metropolitan area, these sites have good public transportation accessibility and living conditions, making them suitable for housing supply targeting young people and others," and added, "These properties have been idle or underutilized for a long time, so increasing their utilization is expected to revitalize surrounding commercial districts and improve living environments."

The housing to be built here targets young people, newlyweds, and the elderly. Happy Housing will consist of a total of 740 units, and Newlywed Hope Town will have 1,240 units. Within this year, the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) will establish project plans for each site, and after deliberation and approval by the National Property Policy Review Committee, the projects will commence. Completion is targeted for 2023?2024.

Since 2018, the Ministry of Economy and Finance has been promoting projects to expand housing supply for young people and newlyweds through complex development of aging government offices in urban areas. Including the five projects selected at this meeting, a total of 16 projects (worth 2 trillion KRW) have been identified to supply 2,900 units of youth rental housing and Newlywed Hope Town. The Ministry stated, "We will contribute to improving housing welfare for vulnerable groups by expanding the supply of small rental housing near stations in the metropolitan area to respond to the increase in single-person households," and added, "It is expected to have a direct and indirect production inducement effect of 2.3 trillion KRW, providing vitality to urban regeneration and the regional economy."

Additionally, the National Property Policy Review Committee also deliberated and approved agenda items including ▲ Determination of the planned sale price for national tax payment in kind (draft) and improvement of the calculation method for the planned sale price (draft) ▲ Revocation of idle administrative property use by official authority (draft) ▲ Submission of the 2019 fiscal year national property management fund settlement report (draft). To increase national treasury revenue, it was decided to sell unlisted stocks held as payment in kind for inheritance tax at prices not lower than the payment amount at initial valuation, and the planned sale prices for 60 unlisted stock items were also deliberated and approved. This decision is estimated to increase the planned sale price of unlisted stocks by 4.3 billion KRW. Furthermore, the committee approved the revocation of use by official authority to convert 83 idle administrative properties (17,126㎡, 1.325 billion KRW) whose administrative purposes have ended into general properties that can be developed and utilized.

Reviewing the national property management fund settlement, the total operating scale for the 2019 fiscal year was 1.9772 trillion KRW, an increase of 131% compared to the original plan. Last year's execution rate recorded 83.7%, up from the 2014?2018 average of 70%, due to expanded recovery of surplus funds. Revenue was secured through 957.9 billion KRW of self-generated income, 3.3 billion KRW of interest income from fund deposits, and 1.016 trillion KRW from surplus fund recovery. Expenditures included 1.1786 trillion KRW for project costs such as new construction of public offices and official residences, 2.5 billion KRW for fund operation expenses, 300 billion KRW for public fund deposits, and 496.1 billion KRW for surplus fund operations.