Kim Kyunghwan, President of Korea Housing Finance Corporation: "We Will Enhance Product Appeal to Revitalize Reverse Mortgage"

Korea Housing Finance Corporation Reports to Financial Services Commission

Kim Kyunghwan, President of Korea Housing Finance Corporation, stated that the company will "enhance product appeal and strengthen promotional efforts" to revitalize the reverse mortgage program.

On the afternoon of January 13, at the government complex annex in Seoul, President Kim made these remarks during the "Financial Services Commission-affiliated Public Institution Work Report." He explained, "The main obstacle to revitalizing the reverse mortgage program is that many elderly homeowners want to pass their homes on to their children." He added, "When housing prices rise, some people avoid enrolling in the program, or feel that the payouts are not as large as they expected."

He noted that the average age of reverse mortgage subscribers is 72, the average home price (based on actual value) is 400 million won, and the average monthly payment is 1.27 million won. "The amount may seem small, but in 2024, the average public pension payout was just over 1 million won, while the average reverse mortgage payout was 1.22 million won. Combined, this exceeds 110% of the living expenses for a two-person household," he emphasized.

President Kim also presented measures to enhance the appeal of the reverse mortgage product. "We have expanded the purposes for lump-sum withdrawals and introduced free legal counseling services for subscribers," he said. "We also plan to improve the system this year by increasing the payout for the 'preferential reverse mortgage,' which currently provides up to 18.4% more to basic pension recipients who own homes valued at less than 250 million won," he announced.