Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong Holds First On-site Communication with 'Youth Meeting'

Gathering Youth Opinions

New Government to Announce Youth Housing Support Measures Within the Year

Youth Advisory Group Formed…Ensuring Direct Youth Participation Throughout the Policy Design Process

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, held a session to directly listen to the voices of youth as his first on-site communication activity after taking office.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that on the 24th at 2 p.m., it visited the LH Corporate Growth Center in Pangyo 2nd Techno Valley, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, to hold a youth meeting titled "Meeting with Youth, the Beginning of Housing Policy."

This event was organized to directly hear the voices of youth, the main stakeholders, before designing the new government’s youth housing support measures. About 20 young people participated, including university students, youth tenants of rental housing, young entrepreneurs, and youth housing activists.

In his opening remarks at the meeting, Minister Won said, "The top priority policy goal of the new government is housing stability for youth, low-income earners, and the middle class," adding, "Within 100 days of the new government’s launch, we will announce a housing supply roadmap, and soon after, we plan to prepare and announce the new government’s youth housing support measures, including the basic directions introduced today and suggestions from youth."

During the subsequent free discussion session, youth participants shared the difficulties they are currently facing and expressed their expectations for policies from the new government.

The youth conveyed the seriousness of youth housing issues, explaining that on top of the heavy burdens of studies and employment, the rapid rise in housing prices and monthly rent costs adds to their housing cost burdens. They also noted that asset disparities widen depending on homeownership, causing a relatively strong sense of deprivation.

They requested the swift implementation of key policies such as youth cost-price housing, first home housing near subway stations, and reform of the subscription system. At the same time, they urged continuous efforts to supply public rental housing, improve quality, and provide housing cost support for youth facing heavy housing cost burdens.

Minister Won listened to the various policy directions directly proposed by the youth attending the meeting and their expectations for the new government, and explained the government’s youth housing policy directions.

First, he announced plans to supply 500,000 cost-price houses targeting youth, newlyweds, and first-time homebuyers. Specifically, a new youth housing model will be developed to enable youth with limited basic assets to secure their own homes in excellent locations such as areas near subway stations, with pre-subscription planned within the year. In terms of price, these homes will be offered at more affordable prices than the current sale price ceiling system, and dedicated mortgage products will also be launched. Minister Won emphasized that supply plans will be carefully reviewed to ensure housing is provided in excellent locations like Pangyo, including areas with convenient transportation such as urban GTX transfer zones and job- and enterprise-concentrated sites like 3rd New Town self-sufficient land.

Loan regulations for first-time homebuyers will also be eased. The government plans to relax loan regulations by raising the loan-to-value ratio (LTV) up to 80% for first-time homebuyers and expanding the reflection of future income in the debt service ratio (DSR) calculation.

He also announced plans to expand youth subscription opportunities through reform of the subscription system. Until now, the subscription system has been mainly operated based on a point system, limiting the number of units allocated to youth and newlyweds. Therefore, the entire subscription system will be reformed, including increasing the proportion of lottery-based allocations mainly for medium- and small-sized housing, to expand subscription opportunities for youth. Additionally, public rental housing will continue to be supplied in sufficient quantities while pursuing groundbreaking qualitative improvements such as strengthening social mix, expanding housing sizes, introducing housing services, and improving quality.

The government also plans to recruit youth interested in land and transport policies to form a ‘Youth Advisory Group.’ This advisory group, to be formed through a public contest in the second half of the year, will participate in policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation to guarantee youth participation rights.

Meanwhile, prior to the meeting, Minister Won visited the office of the startup ‘ybrain,’ a tenant of the Corporate Growth Center, and met with youth representatives and employees. At this occasion, Minister Won witnessed a demonstration of the world’s first commercially successful electronic medicine product for home treatment of depression, which received marketing approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. He also listened to the employees’ difficulties regarding high housing prices and monthly rent in the Pangyo area, as well as challenges of long-distance commuting, and shared opinions on housing conditions conducive to focusing on work.

Furthermore, regarding jobs, a core issue of youth policy along with housing, he stated, "We will boldly improve related regulations together with relevant ministries so that youth can lead innovation and creative startups can gain global competitiveness."