Assemblyman Chulhyun Joo Proposes 'Free Housing for Newlyweds' as Solution to Low Birth Rate and Population Decline

Transforming Into a City Where Newlyweds Can Settle Down
with the "5+5+10 Free Housing Pass"

Chulhyun Joo, a Member of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party of Korea (Yeosu City, Gap District), who is running as a candidate for the Mayor of the Integrated Special City of Jeonnam and Gwangju, announced that, taking the passage of the Integration Special Act at the National Assembly plenary session on March 1, 2026, as an opportunity, he would promote a "Free Housing for Newlyweds" system as a core policy to address the problems of low birth rates and population decline.

Assemblyman Joo has defined population recovery and youth settlement as the top priorities for the Integrated Special City, and plans to actively implement robust population growth policies aimed at reversing the outflow of young people and newlyweds to the greater Seoul area.

Chulhyun Joo, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

He particularly emphasized that the key goal of the Integrated Special City is not mere administrative unification but transforming the city structure into one where people can get married, have children, and settle down.

Recently, analyses have indicated that reluctance toward marriage and childbirth is rapidly spreading in Jeonnam and Gwangju. Among young people, the combination of high housing costs and instability, precarious employment, a gap in living infrastructure compared to the Seoul metropolitan area, and increasing childcare burdens are each contributing to more cases where marriage is postponed or abandoned altogether.

Among local youth, perceptions such as "Even if you get married, there is no place to live together," and "Even if you have children, the environment for raising them is unstable," are becoming increasingly common. Experts point out that the resulting decline in marriages is directly leading to lower birth rates, and with more young people moving to the capital region, the very foundation for marriage and settlement in the local area is weakening, worsening the vicious cycle.

Assemblyman Joo stated, "The current low birth rate problem is not simply about people choosing not to have children, but a structural environmental issue that makes it difficult for young people to choose marriage and childbirth," and emphasized, "Creating a city structure where long-term settlement is possible by resolving housing insecurity is the most realistic population policy."

To address this, Assemblyman Joo presented a key policy called the "5+5+10 Free Housing Pass." The plan is to provide newlyweds with five years of free housing as a basic benefit, add another five years if they have (or adopt) their first child, guaranteeing a total of 10 years, and add another 10 years if they have a second child, making for a maximum of 20 years of free housing.

This goes beyond simple housing support to establish a long-term population policy model that extends through marriage, childbirth, and child-rearing, providing a stable foundation for young people and newlyweds to settle in the region.

In reality, the population structure in Jeonnam and Gwangju is in a critical state. As of 2024, Gwangju recorded 6,043 births and 9,131 deaths, resulting in a natural decrease of 3,088 people, and the total fertility rate fell to 0.70. Jeonnam saw 8,226 births and 20,086 deaths, with a natural decrease of 11,860, highlighting the real risk of local extinction.

Assemblyman Joo explained that this "Free Housing Policy," intended to turn the Integrated Special City into a model for population rebound, will be pursued in connection with his existing pledge to supply 10,000 units of public rental housing for young people. He added that policy implementation will be integrated with the Jeonnam·Gwangju Youth Future Support Center, establishing a one-stop system to handle applications, allocations, and post-management.

Assemblyman Joo emphasized, "The Integrated Special City must be proven as a place where young people and newlyweds can actually live, not just a city unified in name," and added, "Changing the structure in which marriage and childbirth are decreasing through the Free Housing for Newlyweds policy, and building a city model where the population grows again, will be the core strategy of the Integrated Special City."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.