"Expansion of Housing Supply in the Seoul Metropolitan Area"... 20,000 New Housing Sites to be Supplied in the Second Half of the Year

Ministry of Land Holds 'Housing Supply Inspection Meeting'
"Rapid Supply of Quality Housing in Urban Areas"
Considering Polarization Between Seoul·Capital Region and Non-Capital Regions

The government continues to supply housing in Seoul and the metropolitan area. Although the cumulative unsold housing units have exceeded 70,000, most are concentrated in provincial areas, while in Seoul, apartment sale and jeonse prices are rising simultaneously, raising ongoing concerns about supply shortages.

On the morning of the 4th, the 'Housing Supply Inspection Meeting' was held at the Seoul Western Branch of the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG), chaired by Jin Hyun-hwan, the First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. / Photo by Noh Kyung-jo

On the morning of the 4th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held a meeting to review housing supply activation policies at the Seoul Western Branch of the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) in Yeouido, Seoul, with public institutions such as the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), HUG, Korea Real Estate Board, and housing-related organizations including the Korea Housing Association.

Jin Hyun-hwan, the First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, who presided over the meeting, stated in his opening remarks, "Since private supply conditions have contracted and supplementary supply is necessary, we plan to strengthen the role of the public sector." He added, "With the formation of the 22nd National Assembly now complete, we will closely cooperate with the National Assembly to ensure that the legislative tasks announced at the livelihood forum can be passed in the second half of this year."

The Ministry plans to discover more than 20,000 new housing sites centered on the metropolitan area in cooperation with local governments during the second half of the year. This is expected to involve specific regional selections related to the earlier announcement of supplying new housing sites through development restriction zones (Greenbelt) and idle land.

To stabilize the jeonse market, 120,000 public non-apartment units (purchased rental housing) will be supplied over the next two years, allowing homeless households to live in jeonse or monthly rent forms cheaper than market prices. This is a measure to quickly supply high-quality housing in urban areas with high residential preference. LH and HUG's 'Dundeun Jeonse Housing' will introduce 8,500 units in the second half of the year and a total of 25,000 units over the next two years.

Dundeun Jeonse Housing is housing supplied by HUG, which repays the jeonse deposit on behalf of landlords and directly acquires auctioned houses. Vice Minister Jin explained, "To ensure safe Dundeun Jeonse Housing free from jeonse fraud, we have established dedicated organizations such as the Metropolitan Area Purchase Expansion Task Force (TF), Early Construction Support Team, and Purchase Commitment Support Team within LH for rapid housing acquisition."

Regarding the 3rd phase new towns, public housing construction for a total of 10,000 units across five districts will begin this year, aiming for the first move-in in 2026. Vice Minister Jin emphasized, "Starting with the 'Housing Supply Expansion Plan' announced at the livelihood forum on January 10, we have prepared various policies to improve housing supply conditions. Thanks to the government's liquidity supply efforts, the number of housing starts this year has increased by more than 30% compared to the same period last year."

He continued, "In the second half of the year, we are working to swiftly implement tasks announced at the livelihood forum, such as designating leading districts for aging planned cities and the New:Village project for renovating old residential areas," adding, "We plan to steadily pursue additional necessary tasks."

Meanwhile, the housing market has recently seen a deepening polarization between Seoul/metropolitan areas and non-metropolitan regions. In particular, apartment sale prices in Seoul have risen for 14 consecutive weeks, and jeonse prices have been on an upward trend for a full year from June last year to May this year. As of May, the total number of unsold houses nationwide was 72,129 units, a 0.2% increase from the previous month (71,997 units). Of these, 57,368 units, accounting for 80%, are concentrated in provincial areas. Unsold units after completion have increased for 10 consecutive months, reaching 13,230 units nationwide.