Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Holds Press Briefing on the 9th
"Goal to Reduce Seoul Maintenance Projects to 8-9 Years"
Bill Proposed to Accelerate Reconstruction and Redevelopment Processes
Park Sang-woo, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, is speaking about new rental housing supply measures at the Economic Ministers' Meeting held on the 28th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@
Park Sang-woo, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated, "The supply of apartments available for move-in in Seoul through reconstruction and redevelopment projects will be 26,000 units this year and 33,000 units next year," adding, "This figure is higher than the past 10-year average of 20,000 units."
At a press briefing held on the 9th at the Sejong Government Complex, Minister Park explained, "Apartments through redevelopment projects can be considered newly built apartments in the most popular areas that people desire the most," and said, "If sufficient supply is provided this year and next year, it will alleviate market participants' concerns about supply shortages."
The number of apartments available for move-in in Seoul is 37,000 units this year and 49,000 units next year. Of these, redevelopment project units account for about 70% each year.
Minister Park said, "The core of the August 8th measures is to accelerate the pace of redevelopment and reconstruction so that 130,000 units can be released to the market early over the next five years," and announced that on the 2nd, he submitted the 'Special Act on Promotion of Reconstruction and Redevelopment' and amendments to the 'Urban Maintenance Act' to the National Assembly.
He explained, "Since redevelopment and reconstruction have a stabilizing effect on housing prices, we will support rather than regulate them," adding, "The bill includes provisions for the public sector to actively mediate conflicts on site and to integrate the procedures of maintenance projects."
He continued, "Currently, Seoul's maintenance projects take about 14 years and 6 months, and the goal is to reduce this to 8 to 9 years," and stated, "The special act combines the January 10th and August 8th measures announced this year."
Regarding the recent rise in apartment prices in Seoul's Gangnam 3 districts (Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa) and Mayongseong (Mapo, Yongsan, Seongdong), Minister Park diagnosed, "Due to rental fraud in the villa market, its popularity declined, and as people avoided renting villas, apartment rental prices rose, causing prices to increase mainly for newly built apartments in popular areas."
Meanwhile, according to Real Estate R114, a private real estate company, the number of reconstruction and redevelopment apartments available for move-in in Seoul is 14,100 units this year and 24,900 units next year. These figures differ by about 10,000 units from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's statistics (26,000 units this year and 33,000 units next year). A ministry official explained, "The government includes post-sale apartments in its count, whereas Real Estate R114 does not include post-sale units, which accounts for the difference."
A real estate industry official said, "The supply of apartments available for move-in in Seoul is not below past levels until next year, but it will start to decline significantly from 2026," adding, "We will only be able to understand the future supply level of Seoul apartments once the 2026 move-in forecast figures are released."
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