[2022 National Audit] Seoul Faces the Most Severe Youth Housing Crisis, LH Has the Fewest Construction Rental Housing Units

Representatives of the 'Disaster Inequality Memorial Action,' consisting of 177 labor and civil society organizations including the Solidarity for a Poverty Society and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, held a press conference near the Yongsan Presidential Office in Seoul on the 1st of last month, condemning the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's drastic budget cuts for public rental housing./Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

According to data, the area with the lowest supply of construction rental housing provided by Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) relative to its population is Seoul, which is known as the region with the highest housing costs.

On the 4th, data received by National Assembly member Kim Byung-wook of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from LH showed that the ratio of managed units per population for construction rentals directly built and supplied by LH in Seoul was only 0.3%.

As of June, the number of managed construction rental units in Seoul was 33,123, and considering the registered resident population (9,494,807 people), the ratio of managed units per population was recorded at 0.3%.

The highest ratio of managed units per population was in Sejong (3.1%, 11,686 units), followed by Chungbuk (2.9%, 46,157 units).

Gyeonggi Province had the largest number of units at 363,057, but the ratio relative to its population was only 2.7%.

In the case of purchased rental housing, where LH buys houses and rents them out, Seoul ranked only sixth.

This has led to criticism that the supply is insufficient to meet the overwhelming rental demand in the Seoul area.

Assemblyman Kim Byung-wook said, "It has been quite some time since the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and LH announced plans to build rental housing near subway stations in Seoul and downtown areas, but the results have been insufficient in comparison," adding, "If an adequate amount of rental housing is not supplied in Seoul, the government's housing welfare policy will inevitably become an empty promise."

Lee Jung-kwan, acting president of LH, acknowledged that the supply of rental housing in Seoul is insufficient and stated, "LH will establish drastic measures to directly address the rental housing issues in Seoul and downtown areas."