Minister Park Sang-woo: "Only Some New Buildings in Seoul and Gyeonggi Soared... Housing Supply Steadily Continues"

Minister Park Sang-woo of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Holds Press Briefing on the 9th
Review of One Month Since the '8·8 Supply Measures' Announcement
"Rising Prices in Popular Areas for New Buildings... Monitoring the Market"

"Last week, the average apartment sale price increase rate in Seoul was 0.21%, showing a gradual slowdown. The weekly apartment transaction volume (based on reports), including the metropolitan area, is also on a decline."

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Park Sang-woo held a press briefing with the government reporters at the Government Complex Sejong on the 9th, announcing the follow-up implementation status and effects one month after the announcement of the 'August 8 Housing Supply Expansion Plan.' / Photo by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

On the 9th, Park Sang-woo, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, met with reporters at the Government Complex Sejong and said, "The fundamental solution to suppress housing price increases and stabilize the market is to continuously provide confidence that good housing will be steadily supplied and to implement this."

The meeting was arranged to review the follow-up measures and effects over the month since the announcement of the '8·8 Housing Supply Expansion Plan.' Minister Park said, "Considering the time it takes for market participants to judge the supply activation measures and for effects to appear, I thought we could get a sense after about a month."

Regarding concerns over the soaring apartment prices in Seoul, he explained, "The situation is different from when housing prices rose significantly during the administrations of former Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in," adding, "It is difficult to say that unpopular areas in the provinces or even in Seoul and the metropolitan area have surged." He assessed that the apartment price increase since the end of April is a localized rise mainly in popular areas of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province and new constructions.

He further explained, "Policy funds are not the direct cause. A combination of factors such as the contraction of the villa market due to jeonse fraud and the concentration of jeonse demand on apartments has acted together," adding, "The market is like a living organism that moves, so we are monitoring it carefully." He viewed the appropriate ratio of house prices to tenants' (jeonse and monthly rent) income at about 30%.

Minister Park reported that among 56 detailed policy tasks for national housing stability, 13 were completed last month and 24 are being pursued this month. Especially, the top priority is the passage of the 'Special Act on Promotion of Reconstruction and Redevelopment,' which shifts the policy paradigm of redevelopment projects from regulation to support. It is expected to pass quickly as there is little political dispute between the ruling and opposition parties.

The bill was jointly proposed on the 2nd by Kim Eun-hye, a member of the People Power Party, along with the 'Urban and Residential Environment Maintenance Act.' There are also plans to formally conclude contracts for newly built purchased rental housing. As of the 28th of last month, the number of purchase applications received by the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) reached 103,000 households.

Additionally, just as the securities market prevents false information from circulating through disclosures, the real estate market will create a network that can utilize big data. He said, "Countries like the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom analyze using a lot of information," adding, "We will provide reliable information for rational decision-making."

Efforts to secure overseas construction orders were also emphasized. Regarding the '2024 Global Infrastructure Cooperation Conference (GICC 2024)' to be held from the 10th to the 12th, Minister Park said, "The scale is growing year by year, and its recognition in the international community is increasing," adding, "I understand there is particular interest in Korea's railway and smart city sectors."