"Total of 1.07 million households to be supplied including part of Yongsan Park site in Seoul and areas around Gimpo Airport"
Last year, total 3.98 million households in Seoul... about 30% supply increase
Concerns over intensified concentration in the metropolitan area: "Making living in the metropolitan area difficult to push people to provinces cannot be a regional development policy"
[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced a plan to supply 3.11 million housing units on the 23rd, stating that 1.07 million households will be supplied in Seoul alone. Considering that the total number of households in Seoul last year was 3.98 million, this means an additional one-third of the current housing stock will be supplied. The plan aims to expand housing supply in Seoul by utilizing sites such as Yongsan Park and areas around Gimpo Airport, but concerns have been raised that the supply policy concentrated in the metropolitan area could hinder balanced regional development. Additionally, the promised "half-price apartments" are expected to spark debate over their effectiveness due to controversies surrounding "lottery-style sales."
On the day, Candidate Lee stated, "We will swiftly supply a total of 3.11 million housing units nationwide." This is an increase of 1.05 million units from the approximately 2.06 million units previously announced by the government, and about half of the additional supply, 480,000 units, will be provided in Seoul, making a total of 1.07 million units.
The additional 480,000 units include 80,000 units around Gimpo Airport, 100,000 units on part of Yongsan Park and surrounding returned sites, 80,000 units through the undergrounding of Line 1, and 20,000 units on national and public lands such as Taereung, Hongneung, and Changneung, totaling 280,000 units on new sites. Additionally, 100,000 units will be supplied through deregulation of redevelopment, reconstruction, and remodeling, and another 100,000 units through reconstruction of aging permanent rental complexes.
This supply expansion is intended to stabilize housing prices. He emphasized, "Currently, housing prices have risen far above their actual value due to excessive demand, so to resolve this, it is crucial to instill confidence that sufficient supply will be provided."
Candidate Lee said, "Please understand that the fact that the supply volume is definitively secured by government plans will greatly help stabilize the housing market."
He acknowledged concerns that the supply concentrated in the metropolitan area could deepen metropolitan concentration but stressed that making living in the metropolitan area unbearable to push people to the provinces cannot be a balanced development policy.
Candidate Lee said, "Seoul will have 3.9 million housing units. The pledge of 1.07 million units is nearly an additional one-third supply," adding, "Even if there are claims of oversupply, I will definitely keep the promise of mass supply."
Along with this supply plan, Candidate Lee also proposed the "half-price apartment" pledge.
He promised, "We will change the public land supply price standard to the development cost, introduce a system to disclose the sales cost, and apply a price ceiling system to supply a large number of 'half-price apartments' at about half the market price of nearby properties."
When asked about potential criticisms of preferential sales, he responded, "Although the market housing prices are set excessively high compared to the actual cost, causing significant profits and problems, this is because the market is formed at excessively high prices and does not guarantee appropriate prices," adding, "Therefore, since the public forcibly acquires private land to develop public land, it is only right to return this benefit to our citizens."
Additionally, Candidate Lee said he would prioritize 30% of public housing supply for homeless youth to help them own homes and significantly reduce financial restrictions and transaction tax burdens for first-time homebuyers.
He stated, "As we greatly expand new supply, 30% of the supply will be prioritized for homeless youth," adding, "All housing near Yongsan Park will be supplied as youth basic housing." He also said, "For first-time homebuyers, we will greatly ease financial regulations by recognizing LTV up to 90% considering region, area, and price," and "We will exempt acquisition tax for homes under 300 million KRW and reduce it by half for homes under 600 million KRW."
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