Changwon Special City Establishes Comprehensive Youth Housing Plan ... First Among Local Governments

1,000 Units of Youth Housing Supplied in the 8th Civil Administration
2,000 New Units to Be Provided by 2028

Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam has taken steps to address youth housing instability and prevent the outflow of young people from the region by establishing the nation’s first-ever “Comprehensive Youth Housing Plan” among basic local governments in August.

Changwon Special City Hall, Gyeongnam. Photo by Lee Seryeong

The newly established Youth Housing Policy Team, created in the second half of this year, analyzed the housing status of local youth using existing statistics as much as possible. As of July this year, there are 3,768 youth rental housing units in Changwon. This accounts for only 7.74% of the total number of youth households in the area. In 2023, while 64.45% of youth households reside in the capital region, only 1.7% live in Changwon. As the data shows, the youth population in Changwon decreased sharply by 112,000 people (32.3%) as of June this year compared to July 2010.

The city has set its vision as “Changwon, a city where youth challenge their dreams and create the future,” and aims to supply 1,000 new youth housing units during the 8th mayoral term and 2,000 units over the next five years. The plan consists of five key tasks (▲youth housing supply ▲strengthening housing support ▲preventing housing damage ▲establishing housing support systems ▲developing region-specific policies) and 17 action items.

The youth housing supply strategy is notable for categorizing the previously fragmented supply methods into four types (public contribution, new construction, private partnership, and institutional supply) and establishing demand-supply models tailored to different life stages.

To strengthen housing support, the city will promote ▲youth monthly rent support ▲housing support for newlyweds ▲linking housing support projects.

To help young tenants protect their deposits, the city will enhance the promotion of housing damage prevention policies and reorganize existing policies. To shift from fragmented and temporary youth housing policies to an integrated, mid-to-long-term approach, the city is also considering enacting the “Basic Ordinance on Youth Housing” and the “Ordinance on Support for Youth Rental Housing.”

In particular, next year, the city plans to conduct a “Youth Housing Status Survey” and commission research for the “Basic Youth Housing Plan.” This is to address the statistical limitations and supplement the validity and effectiveness identified during the formulation of the current comprehensive plan.

Park Hyeonho, Director of Urban Policy, stated, “The Comprehensive Youth Housing Plan is the first step toward solving the housing problems faced by young people,” and added, “We will strive to significantly reduce the housing cost burden for youth and provide a better living environment.”