Ministry of Land to Report to Transition Team on 25th... Focus Likely on Housing Supply and Deregulation

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) will present a work report to the Presidential Transition Committee on the 25th. Since President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol's real estate pledge focuses on revitalizing redevelopment projects to stabilize the market through housing supply, it is expected that the report will concentrate on this content.

According to the Transition Committee on the 22nd, MOLIT plans to conduct an economic second division work report at 4 p.m. on the 25th at the Transition Committee office in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Members of the Planning and Coordination Division and economic second division experts from Seoul City are also expected to attend and listen.

The Transition Committee's work report is broadly divided into current issue reports and pledge implementation plan reports. It will include a review of the current housing market trends and conditions, along with implementation plans for MOLIT-related policies among President-elect Yoon's real estate pledges. The committee has instructed that the work report format should commonly present the achievements and issues of policies over the past five years, the financial requirements of the pledges, and additional key tasks not included in the pledges.

Although MOLIT handles various tasks such as transportation and aviation, most of the work report is expected to focus on real estate-related matters.

President-elect Yoon has pledged to supply 2.5 million housing units during his term. The methods proposed include public land development (1.42 million units), reconstruction and redevelopment (470,000 units), urban and station area complex development (180,000 units), small-scale maintenance projects (100,000 units), and other methods such as private development through purchase agreements (130,000 units). Notably, he declared that 1.3 to 1.5 million of these units will be supplied in the Seoul metropolitan area.

The MOLIT work report may include the feasibility and a detailed roadmap for realizing these pledges. Opinions on the possibility of supplying 300,000 youth cost-price housing units and 200,000 'First Home near Station' half-price housing units for youth and newlyweds are also expected to be presented.

Since President-elect Yoon pledged to comprehensively review the redevelopment and reconstruction regulations imposed by the Moon Jae-in administration, attention is focused on MOLIT's stance, which has been promoting these projects. Yoon has proposed exempting detailed safety inspections for aging apartment complexes over 30 years old and lowering the safety inspection evaluation standards raised by the current government.

Regarding the floor area ratio for reconstruction, which is directly linked to project profitability, he pledged to raise the legal upper limit in some zoning areas from the current 300% to 500%. In this case, simulations on the market impact may also be conducted. Other pledges such as easing price regulation and relaxing the reconstruction excess profit recovery system are also expected to be reported together.

Since President-elect Yoon has decided to completely overhaul the three lease laws and the plan to realize official property prices implemented by the Moon administration, how these policies will be addressed is also a matter of interest.