Seoul City Criticized for Zero-Tolerance Policy, Expands and Reorganizes 'Real Estate Policy Development Center'

From Housing Policy Support Center to Real Estate Policy Development Center
Strengthening Functions for Market Stabilization Measures and Comprehensive Analysis of Finance and Taxation

Seoul City will expand and reorganize the existing Housing Policy Support Center into the 'Real Estate Policy Development Center' to enhance the expertise of its real estate policies. This is to prevent repeated policy confusion, such as the re-designation of land transaction permit zones just 35 days after their cancellation.

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Park Sang-woo is holding a joint briefing on housing market stabilization measures related to real estate regulations, finance, and speculative transactions at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 19th. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Deputy Minister of Strategy and Finance Kim Beom-seok, and Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission Kim So-young attended the briefing. 2025.3.19 Photo by Jo Yong-jun

On the 17th, Seoul City announced the legislative notice of the 'Partial Amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Seoul City Administrative Organization Establishment Ordinance,' which includes expanding the Housing Policy Support Center under the Housing Office into the Real Estate Policy Development Center.

The amended enforcement rules are scheduled to be implemented in May after completing the subsequent legislative procedures following the notice.

The Real Estate Policy Development Center will be responsible for tasks such as researching real estate market stabilization measures, analyzing the impact on the real estate market when establishing related policies, conducting comprehensive analyses of real estate finance and taxation, and developing advanced systems.

Real estate market trend analysis, transaction investigations, and preparation of real estate trend reports, which were previously handled by the Land Management Division of the Urban Space Headquarters, will be transferred to the Real Estate Policy Development Center.

Tasks related to the planning and operation of designating and canceling land transaction permit zones will also be transferred from the Land Management Division to the Housing Policy Division under the Housing Office. The Land Management Division will be responsible for post-use surveys and management related to land transaction permit zones.

The city explained, "Through the amendment of the enforcement rules, we aim to strengthen the pre-verification system related to real estate policies and systematically promote policies."

Previously, the city canceled the land transaction permit zones in the Jamsil, Samsung, Daechi, and Cheongdam areas, but after a rapid rise in housing prices, it re-designated the zones across the three Gangnam districts and Yongsan District within a month. Following this, the city announced plans to expand and reorganize the existing organization into a dedicated body analyzing real estate policies and market trends.

At that time, the city stated, "Most personnel responsible for housing projects focused primarily on housing supply and were somewhat lacking in closely monitoring demand-side factors such as market reactions. We will enhance operational capacity by incorporating experts who comprehensively analyze the real estate market, including macroeconomic variables such as taxation and financial markets."