If You Get Married, You Should Live in Incheon... Introducing a Shocking Policy of '1,000 Won Daily Rent'

Incheon City is gaining attention by consecutively introducing groundbreaking low birthrate and housing policies. Following the '100 Million Plus i Dream (1억+ i dream)' program that provides a total of 100 million KRW support until the age of 18 for children born in Incheon, the city will supply newlyweds with 'Thousand-Won Housing,' where the daily rent is 1,000 KRW.

On the 10th, the city announced that to address the national issue of continuously declining birthrates due to high housing costs and other burdens, it will promote the 'i Plus Jip Dream (i+ 집 dream)' housing policy for newlywed (prospective) couples. The core of this policy includes the supply of Thousand-Won Housing and additional interest support for newborn special loans.

First, starting next year, the city plans to supply 1,000 units of Thousand-Won Housing, which rents out city-purchased rental homes or jeonse rental homes directly selected by tenants at a daily rent of 1,000 KRW (30,000 KRW per month).

Thousand-Won Housing will be supported for prospective newlyweds or newlywed couples married within seven years, initially for two years and up to six years. The housing area is limited to 65㎡ or less for childless couples, 75㎡ or less for couples with one child, and 85㎡ or less for couples with two or more children. The daily rent is only about 4% of the average monthly rent of 760,000 KRW for private housing.

Newlywed couples can choose between purchased rental housing and jeonse rental housing. If they choose purchased rental housing, they will move into public rental housing owned by Incheon City. Since many of these are newly built villa-style homes rather than old rental houses, the city expects high satisfaction.

For jeonse rental housing, newlywed couples can directly select apartments or villas with an exclusive area of 85㎡ or less from the market. The city then signs a jeonse contract with the landlord and supplies the housing to the newlywed couples. The maximum jeonse deposit is 240 million KRW, but if desired, couples can pay additional costs to rent more expensive jeonse homes.

An Incheon city official stated, "There are about 11,000 newlywed couples within seven years eligible to apply for Thousand-Won Housing in Incheon, and we will consider expanding the support scale based on actual competition rates."

Alongside this, a loan interest support project will be promoted to help households with children purchase their own homes. The city plans to link with the government-supported Newborn Special Didimdol Loan (interest rate 1.6?3.3%) and separately provide interest support of about 0.8?1.0%, lowering the overall interest rate to around 1%.

The support target is households giving birth from 2025 onward, with interest support of 0.8% for one child and 1% for two or more children within a maximum loan amount of 300 million KRW. Annual support can reach up to 3 million KRW and will be provided for up to five years. Income criteria are the same as for the Newborn Special Didimdol Loan, and the combined annual income limit for couples will be expanded to 250 million KRW starting next year.

Incheon Mayor Yoo Jung-bok is announcing the 'i+Jip dream' policy, an Incheon-style low birthrate housing policy including the supply of newlywed couples' housing at 1,000 won, at the city hall briefing room on July 9, 2024. Photo by Incheon City

Incheon City expects that about 126.3 billion KRW will be needed over five years from next year for the 'i Plus Jip Dream' project budget and plans to secure funding while establishing detailed project plans.

Previously, the city announced the '100 Million Plus i Dream' policy, which provides a total of 100 million KRW support until the age of 18 for children born in Incheon, and has been fully implementing it since this year. This policy adds 28 million KRW from Incheon City's own budget for angel support funds, i Dream allowances, and transportation expenses for pregnant women, on top of the existing 72 million KRW support from the government and local governments, totaling 100 million KRW.

Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok said, "Incheon will take the lead in overcoming the low birthrate," adding, "There are clear limits to innovation by local governments alone, so a shift in housing policy at the central government level is necessary."

Mayor Yoo proposed to the government to promote housing policies based on the concept of residence rather than ownership, including expanding national funding support to ease housing costs, establishing a low birthrate countermeasure fund, introducing 40-50 year long-term mortgage loans, and expanding the supply of public rental housing.