Seoul Holds Forum on Private Housing Supply... Outlining Blueprint for Housing Promotion Fund

Expert Forum on Housing Supply Sites
In-depth Discussion on Private Sector Participation and Other Measures

As Seoul seeks to accelerate the pace of housing supply by introducing a 'Housing Promotion Fund,' the city will hold a forum to hear about challenges faced in the private housing supply sector.

On August 1, the city announced that it will host an expert forum at Seosomun City Hall under the theme 'Seoul Housing Promotion Fund: A New Path to Expanding Housing Supply.'

This forum has been organized to listen to the voices of private sector experts in housing supply and to examine the direction of policy management before introducing the Housing Promotion Fund. Attendees will include Lee Minseok, Vice Chairperson of the Seoul Metropolitan Council's Housing and Space Committee, Kim Geunyong, Head of Research at the Korea Real Estate Board, as well as real estate, finance, and housing experts, and field representatives.

Kim Sunghwan, Senior Research Fellow at the Construction Industry Institute and the keynote speaker, will discuss systems that can absorb risks in the construction environment. He argues that it is necessary to establish safety mechanisms to defend against risks such as surging construction costs and external variables like interest rates.

There will also be discussions on the concept of a Seoul-style fund that provides strategic financial support throughout the entire housing supply cycle, including land acquisition and construction financing. Based on the example of Vienna, Austria, it is expected that there will be debate on how a structure in which local governments supply rental housing over the long term with stable funding is effective for housing stability.

Lee Juhwa, CEO of Realtymate and a private sector developer, will share the difficulties experienced while promoting youth safe housing projects. Lee emphasized, "It is not enough to simply offer construction cost loans; what is urgently needed is proactive financial support starting from the land acquisition stage," highlighting the necessity of introducing the fund from the perspective of a field practitioner.

The city plans to review the various suggestions and concerns raised at the forum and announce a detailed operational plan for the Seoul-style Housing Promotion Fund in the near future.

The Seoul-style Housing Promotion Fund is centered on raising 2 trillion won over 10 years by allocating 200 billion won annually, with the aim of providing financial incentives to the private sector through land purchases and construction loans. Previously, on July 16, Mayor Oh Sehoon held a press conference marking the third anniversary of his eighth term and announced the plan to establish the Housing Promotion Fund as a measure to speed up housing supply.