Approval of the '2025 National Property Comprehensive Plan'
Startup Dormitories in Jongno and Gwanak
The government plans to develop aging government office buildings and the former Yongsan military base site to supply 22,000 youth housing units by 2035. Young entrepreneurs operating on state-owned properties will receive up to an 80% rent reduction.
On the 14th, the Ministry of Economy and Finance held the State Property Policy Deliberation Committee at the Government Seoul Office and approved the '2025 Comprehensive Plan for State Property.'
First, the government will develop aging government office buildings in areas preferred by the younger generation and the former Yongsan military base site to supply 22,000 youth housing units by 2035. Including Yongsan and Songpa (about 700 units), a total of 38 state-owned land sites will be developed to provide 22,000 housing units. The housing types will be diversified to include 1.5-room and two-room units favored by youth, and facilities such as fitness centers will also be provided.
To encourage private capital participation in housing supply, the REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) method will be introduced, and related systems will be revised to extend lease periods from 30 to 50 years.
For university students aspiring to start businesses, startup dormitories offering both residential and entrepreneurial spaces will be provided at 20-30% below market prices in the currently developing Jongno and Gwanak complex office buildings. Among idle state-owned properties such as land and commercial buildings, those suitable for youth startups like cafes and smart farms will be identified and leased preferentially to the younger generation, with usage fees reduced from 5% to 1% of the property value, a maximum 80% discount.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance will also select senior residence project sites by the first half of next year through consultations with local governments, targeting state-owned lands in areas such as Gangseo, Seoul, and Wonju, Gangwon Province, to ensure housing stability for the elderly.
Amendments to the State Property Act will be pursued to allow payment of state property sale proceeds and lease fees via credit and debit cards, and related regulations will be supplemented to permit leases of up to 10 years for those who repair aging buildings at their own expense.
Since public schools currently occupying state-owned land face safety concerns due to bans on facility expansion despite aging infrastructure, full permission will be granted for facility expansions and renovations of elementary, middle, and high schools.
At the committee meeting, measures to revitalize the sale of stock paid in kind held by the government were also approved. Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, stated, "We will improve the preemptive purchase system and investment-type sale system to increase national treasury revenue and support family business succession companies."
The preemptive purchase system's application period and requirements will be relaxed to allow more family business successors to repurchase stock paid in kind, and a 20-50% discount regulation will be newly established for stocks that have failed to sell more than twice, aligning with other stock sale methods for stock paid in kind. The scope of investment-type sale participants, currently limited to institutional investors, will be expanded to include general corporations as strategic investors, and highly specialized securities firms will be commissioned to find investors.
Deputy Prime Minister Choi added, "To implement these measures, a bidding announcement for securities firms to operate the stock sale pool will be made in September, and the enforcement decree of the State Property Act will be amended in October."
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