Seoul Aims to Supply 3,500 Mirinae Jip Units This Year
400 Apartment Units to Begin Tenant Recruitment in April
Mayor Oh Sehoon Inspects Lotte Castle East Pole Site
Seoul City will supply 400 units of 'Mirinae Jip' (long-term lease housing) for newlyweds next month. It has been decided to provide Mirinae Jip not only in apartments but also in officetels, multi-family houses, and Hanok (traditional Korean houses).
On the 31st, Seoul City announced that it will conduct the 4th recruitment of Mirinae Jip tenants starting in April. The housing complexes for this recruitment include △ Imun I-Park Xi (Dongdaemun-gu) △ Junghwa Rivercen SK View Lotte Castle (Jungnang-gu), among others. About 400 units will be supplied, including deposit-supported Mirinae Jip.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon attended the 'Mirinae House On-site Visit and Newlywed Couples Meeting' held at Lotte Castle Eastpole in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul on the 31st, where he listened to explanations from officials along with Vice Chairman Joo Hyung-hwan and others. Photo by Yonhap News
Mirinae Jip is a new rental housing program by Seoul City, introduced in 2007 as a long-term lease housing (shift) specialized for newlyweds to overcome the low birthrate. Eligible policy beneficiaries can move in at prices lower than the surrounding market prices, and the residence period can be extended up to 20 years upon childbirth. When giving birth to two or more children, incentives are also provided to purchase housing at up to 20% below market prices.
Moreover, starting this year, the supply will move away from apartment-centered housing to include non-apartment types such as multi-family houses and Hanok. The city plans to purchase newly built multi-family and row houses, urban lifestyle housing, and residential officetels to offer them at prices lower than market rates. Non-apartment type Mirinae Jip will operate in two ways: 'linked type,' which allows moving to long-term lease housing after 10 years of residence if childbirth occurs during the residence period, and 'purchase type,' which grants discounted purchase rights for existing houses. Deposit-supported Mirinae Jip linked with long-term secure housing will also be supplied.
Based on these policies, the city plans to increase housing supply for newlywed and childbirth households. The goal is to supply 3,500 units this year and 4,000 units next year.
Previously, Seoul City supplied a total of 1,022 Mirinae Jip units in three rounds, starting with 300 units at Olympic Park Preon in Dunchon-dong, Gangdong-gu, in July last year. In August last year, 327 units were recruited for six complexes including 'Lotte Castle East Pole (Jayang-dong, Gwangjin-gu)' and 'Hillstate I-Pyeonhan Sesang Munjeong (Munjeong-dong, Songpa-gu).' Among them, Lotte Castle East Pole recorded a competition rate of 52.9 to 1.
In addition, the city plans to propose to the government the expansion of the Mirinae Jip policy nationwide. This is based on the judgment that the income criteria applied to Mirinae Jip and the income-independent contract renewal benefit (2 years) help stabilize housing for newlyweds. For Mirinae Jip, apartments with exclusive area over 60㎡ can be applied for subscription up to 200% of the average monthly income of urban workers for dual-income households.
The government also plans to strengthen housing supply for newlywed and childbirth households by preparing and implementing the 'Housing Supply Regulations' and the 'Public Housing Special Act Enforcement Regulations' starting from the 31st. First, for other long-term lease housing besides Mirinae Jip, dual-income households can apply for subscription up to 200% of the average monthly income. Previously, for long-term lease housing, apartments with exclusive area over 60㎡ and up to 85㎡ could only be applied for if the applicant’s income was below 120% of the average monthly income of urban workers. The asset criteria will also be expanded and reformed from focusing on real estate and automobiles to include financial assets and general assets as total asset value criteria.
Meanwhile, on the same day, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited Lotte Castle East Pole in Jayang-dong, Gwangjin-gu, where move-ins have begun, to conduct an on-site inspection. Mayor Oh held a meeting with four newlywed couples on site to listen to their difficulties regarding childcare and childbirth.
Mayor Oh said, "Low birthrate is most critically linked to resolving housing issues," and added, "Among the 3,500 units secured this year, 2,000 units are in the form of purchased rental housing." He also said, "Reconstruction and redevelopment apartment complexes are increasing in Seoul," and added, "As more couples gradually move into apartment types, the effectiveness of the policy is expected to increase."
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