[Lee Administration's First Budget] Public Housing Up by 6.3 Trillion Won... Didimdol and Bogeumjari Loans Down by 4 Trillion Won

Significant Increase in Public Housing Supply and Safety Investments
Expansion of SOC and R&D Budgets
Largest-Ever Budget Proposal for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

The government has decided to increase next year's public housing budget by more than 6 trillion won compared to this year. Previously, the National Policy Planning Committee had unveiled a plan to supply 1.1 million units of public housing over the five-year term of the Lee Jaemyung administration to ensure housing stability for the general public.

Public housing is a broad concept that includes homes developed and managed by public institutions, such as public sale and public rental housing, as well as public-supported private rentals that receive support from the Housing and Urban Fund. It also encompasses equity accumulation-type housing, where buyers initially pay only about 20% of the sale price and gradually pay off the remainder, as well as land lease-type housing.

According to the budget proposal for next year released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on August 29, the government plans to supply 194,000 units of public housing. The related expenditure is set at 22.8 trillion won, a significant increase from this year's 16.5 trillion won. Considering that the total increase in the Ministry's budget is about 4.2 trillion won, it is clear that considerable effort has been put into expanding the supply of public housing.

Seoul Gangnam-gu Yeongdong-daero Underground Space Complex Development Construction Site. 2025.04.23 Photo by Dongju Yoon

The budget for safety-related projects has also increased. The allocation for airport facility safety enhancement, which was set at 22.4 billion won in this year's main budget, will be raised to 120.4 billion won next year, nearly a sixfold increase. The budget for railway safety will rise from 2.4 trillion won this year to 2.9 trillion won next year. Additionally, the budget for sinkhole prevention, including the expansion of exploration equipment, will increase from 1.5 billion won to 14.4 billion won, more than a tenfold increase.

For specific projects, 436.1 billion won will be allocated to the Metropolitan Express Railway in the Seoul metropolitan area, 700 billion won to the new airport in Gadeokdo, 120 billion won to the new airport in Saemangeum, and 41 billion won to the newly planned Jecheon-Yeongwol Expressway. To boost the construction industry in regional areas, the government also plans to include about 500 billion won in the main budget to purchase 5,000 unsold housing units.

The local government autonomous budget account under the Special Account for Balanced National Development will be significantly increased from 800 billion won to 1.3 trillion won. This fund is expected to be used mainly for future strategic hubs, such as 4 billion won for AI pilot cities and 1 billion won for climate change industrial complexes. The government also plans to allocate 500 billion won for research and development in land, infrastructure, and transport, and 88 billion won for projects supporting the commercialization of AI new technology application systems, thereby backing innovation projects.

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Yoonduk Kim visited the site of the Mugunghwa train accident near the Gyeongbu Line railroad in Samsin-ri, Hwayang-eup, Cheongdo-gun, Gyeongbuk on the 19th and received a report. Provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Yonhap News Agency

The total social overhead capital (SOC) budget under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is set at 20.7678 trillion won, a 6.5% increase compared to this year's main budget. Given that the SOC budget was cut during two supplementary budget adjustments this year, the actual increase is even greater. The road budget is 6.2525 trillion won, a 13% decrease from last year's main budget. In contrast, the railway budget has increased to 8.8411 trillion won, and logistics and other R&D have risen to 2.562 trillion won, both seeing double-digit growth.

The expenditure for the Housing and Urban Fund is planned to increase by 7.8%, from 35.3955 trillion won this year to 38.1497 trillion won next year. The investment in rental housing, which was less than 3 trillion won this year, will more than double to 8.3274 trillion won next year, an increase of over 180%. On the other hand, the amount allocated for purchase and jeonse loans will be sharply reduced from 14 trillion won this year to 10 trillion won next year. These funds are mainly used for Didimdol and Bogeumjari loans.

Meanwhile, the total budget proposal for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for next year stands at 62.4 trillion won, the highest ever. The SOC budget is 20.8 trillion won, a 6.5% increase compared to last year's main budget.