[Exclusive] Ministry of Land to Organize 77-Person Housing Supply Promotion Headquarters... Establishes Fair Construction Support Division

The outline of the new control tower that the government is establishing to expand housing supply has been finalized. It will be composed of a total of 77 personnel by combining existing staff, temporary positions, and personnel from autonomous units, and will focus all efforts on securing housing supply volume through December 31, 2028.

At the same time, the Construction Site Compliance Monitoring Team, which had been a temporary organization within the Construction Policy Bureau, will be reorganized into the Construction Fairness Support Division. The Regional Land Management Offices will increase dedicated personnel for cracking down on illegal subcontracting.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 17th, the draft Partial Amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Organization Decree of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Its Affiliated Agencies was pre-announced on the 16th. The amendment includes the establishment of the Housing Supply Promotion Headquarters and its subordinate organization, as well as the creation of the Construction Fairness Support Division, an organization dedicated to cracking down on illegal subcontracting. The public comment period runs until the 23rd.

Government Sejong Government Complex, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Photo by Seo-yoon Choi

Nine divisions with 77 staff... New autonomous unit to be created

Under the head of the Housing Supply Promotion Headquarters (director-general level), three senior officials will be assigned, including the Director for Housing Supply Policy and the Director for Housing Renewal Policy (both bureau-chief level). The headquarters will operate with a total of nine divisions under it. Under the Enforcement Rules on the organization, eight divisions will be established: the Housing Supply Policy Division, the Public Housing Site Planning Division, the Public Housing Site Management Division, the Urban Housing Policy Division, the Urban Housing Support Division, the Housing Renewal Policy Division, the New Town Renewal Planning Division, and the New Town Renewal Support Division.

In addition, one more division will be added. The Public Housing Site Support Division will be newly created as an autonomous unit that the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport can establish with discretion over organizational operations. Although this division is not included in the organizational draft that has been pre-announced, it will be established under the minister's authority and will support the work of the headquarters.

The headquarters will consist of a total of 70 personnel, combining 18 existing regular staff within the headquarters and 52 temporary positions added through this organizational amendment. On top of this, 7 personnel will be assigned to the autonomous unit (Public Housing Site Support Division), bringing the total number of staff exclusively in charge of housing supply work to 77. The headquarters has been created to integrate the housing supply functions that had been dispersed within the ministry and to accelerate the pace of housing supply.

Kim Yoonduk, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, is attending the full meeting of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee on the 17th, reporting on types of jeonse fraud and the scale of damages. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Construction Site Compliance Monitoring Team for illegal subcontracting crackdowns upgraded to a formal division

The organization in charge of cracking down on illegal subcontracting will also be restructured. The Construction Site Compliance Monitoring Team, which had been operating as a temporary team, will be expanded and reorganized into the Construction Fairness Support Division, a formal division within the Construction Policy Bureau, in order to strengthen its enforcement function.

The Construction Fairness Support Division will consist of a total of 7 personnel, combining 5 existing team members and 2 newly added staff members (Grade 5 and Grade 6). Its organizational status will also be elevated. The division head position will be upgraded from a dual-grade post (Grade 4 or Grade 5) to a director (Grade 4).

Nine new dedicated positions for enforcement (five Grade 6 and four Grade 7 staff) will also be assigned to the Regional Land Management Offices. With additional personnel now deployed to Regional Land Management Offices, which previously had no dedicated enforcement staff, it has become possible to conduct on-site inspections on a regular basis. Until now, all 17 enforcement personnel at the five regional offices nationwide in Seoul, Wonju, Daejeon, Iksan, and Busan had been temporary staff outside the regular headcount.

In addition, four personnel will be added as special judicial police officers in the real estate sector, and two personnel will be added for underground safety management. The Overseas Urban Development Strategy Planning Team will be abolished and its functions will be integrated into the Overseas Construction Support Division. The term of four temporary positions for the construction of national pilot smart cities will be extended by two years, until February 2028.

The terms of the Housing Lease Planning Team and the Aviation Qualification International Cooperation Team, which were established using the total labor cost cap system, will also be extended by two years, until the end of 2027. The amended Enforcement Rules on the organization will take effect from the date of promulgation. Provisions related to the establishment of the Underground Safety Team will take effect from January 2 next year.