Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport "Alternative Area Standards Announcement for First Half of This Year"
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 24th that it will conduct a comprehensive review of the supply area standards for public rental housing. This response came after controversy arose over the area standards for single-person households, which limit the supply area of public rental housing based on the number of household members.
Lee Ki-bong, Director of Housing Welfare Policy at the Ministry of Land, said at the government Sejong office on the same day, "There were claims that giving a single-person household just one room and making them live in a cramped space is harsh," adding, "Since single-person households have become the majority, I think this is a meaningful issue, so we plan to carefully review the area standards." He continued, "The review of the area standards may include abolishing the standards, maintaining them as they are, or relaxing them. We will review this with an open mind."
According to the National Petition website on the 24th, 32,148 people agreed to the petition titled 'Abolition of Area Restrictions on Rental Housing,' which was made public on the 4th. The main content of the petition is that the area regulations for rental housing by the number of household members, set according to the partial amendment ordinance of the Public Housing Special Act Enforcement Rules that came into effect on the 25th of last month, are too narrow. After the petition was made public, reactions such as "Are single-person households supposed to live in cramped spaces?" poured in.
The partial amendment ordinance of the enforcement rules limits the supply area of public rental housing such as national housing and happy housing by household size as follows: ▲ 1 person 35㎡ or less ▲ 2 persons over 25㎡ up to 44㎡ ▲ 3 persons over 35㎡ up to 50㎡ ▲ 4 or more persons over 44㎡.
The Ministry of Land plans to review the area standards for public rental housing and prepare alternatives in the first half of this year. The director said, "During the process of preparing alternatives, we will listen to the opinions of various groups, including youth, families with children, multi-person households, and single-person households, both officially and unofficially." He added that the specific direction for changing the area standards will be decided after hearing diverse opinions.
However, he pointed out that it is not possible to supply large-sized public rental housing unconditionally to single-person households. The director said, "We cannot blindly give large-sized units to single-person households," adding, "Priority for large-sized units should be given to multi-person households, and only when large-sized public rental housing remains should opportunities be given to single-person households."
The director emphasized that public rental housing should be appropriately supplied to those in need, such as vulnerable groups. He said, "There are still many people living in abnormal dwellings such as semi-basements or goshiwons," adding, "Public rental housing should be supplied for these people."
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