[Q&A] Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, "Publicly Supported Private Rental and Private Sale Are Not Subject to Type Integration or Newlywed Special Cases"

▲ On the 20th, Kim Hyun-mi, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, is speaking at the '5th Housing Welfare Council Meeting' held at the Jeongdong Land Development Exhibition Hall. On the same day, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced the upgraded 'Housing Welfare Roadmap 2.0,' enhancing the existing 'Housing Welfare Roadmap.' (Provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport explained on the 20th regarding the integration of public rental housing types and the special recognition plan for newlyweds with children under the age of 6, stating, "Currently, there are no plans to extend this to other systems."

On the 20th, the Ministry held the 5th Housing Welfare Council and announced the 'Housing Welfare Roadmap 2.0' containing these details. Through this roadmap, the government revised the previous goal of achieving 2 million long-term public rental housing units by 2022 to an increased target of 2.4 million units by 2025. The plan is to raise the long-term public rental housing stock rate to 10%, surpassing the OECD average of 8%.

Along with this, the Ministry plans to significantly unify and simplify the occupancy conditions of public rental housing, which had been pointed out as inconvenient. A Ministry official explained, "Currently, the type integration involves combining the three types of construction-type long-term public rental housing: Permanent, National, and Happy Housing." They added that the inclusion of purchase-type rental housing is being considered for the long term.

The eligibility for rental housing supplied to newlywed couples, such as the Newlywed Hope Town which was previously limited to couples married within 7 years, will be expanded to all households with children under 6 years old. This means that middle-aged couples married for more than 7 years can also move in if they have a late-born child. However, this special provision does not apply to other government housing welfare services or private sales.

Regarding concerns that public rental housing policies focus only on supply and neglect post-occupancy management, the Ministry stated, "We will establish management plans covering all public rental housing, including Seoul and the metropolitan area."

Below is a Q&A with Kim Jeong-hee, Director of Housing Welfare Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

▲ I understand there are more types of public rental housing beyond Permanent, National, and Happy Housing. Are there plans to integrate the other rental housing types as well?

= Aside from the three construction-type types?Permanent, National, and Happy Housing?other types such as jeonse rental and purchase-type rental housing are excluded from the integration target for now. Currently, they are excluded, but the inclusion of purchase-type rental housing is being considered for the long term.

▲ If type integration occurs, will Publicly Supported Private Rental Housing (formerly known as New Stay) be included?

= Publicly Supported Private Rental Housing cannot be considered long-term rental housing, so it is not included. Since these may later convert to sales or be sold to private owners, inclusion is difficult. The current integration combines the three construction-type long-term public rental housing types: Permanent, National, and Happy Housing.

▲ How will tenant selection criteria be applied after type integration?

= The selection criteria of Happy Housing will be applied. For the general supply of 50%, excluding the 50% priority supply for persons with disabilities, national merit recipients, etc., tenants will be selected by a lottery regardless of income level as long as they meet the relevant criteria.

▲ Does the special provision allowing newlywed public rental housing occupancy for couples with children under 6 years old, even if married more than 7 years, apply to general apartment sales as well? Can similar benefits be expected from other government housing support measures?

= The system recognizing couples with children under 6 as newlyweds applies only to public rental housing occupancy and is unrelated to sales. Application to other housing services is not currently under consideration. Related procedures, including amendments to the Public Housing Special Act enforcement regulations, will be completed within this year.

▲ You mentioned increasing long-term public rental housing to 2.4 million units by 2025. Since public rental housing projects tend to require continuous budget input rather than profitability, is there a separate funding plan?

= This has already been agreed upon with the budget authorities. We expect no major issues.

▲ You continue to emphasize the OECD public rental housing ratio, but there are many criticisms that already supplied local rental housing is not properly managed. There are also controversies about supply-demand imbalance regarding rental housing locations.

= We will establish management plans covering all rental housing, including Seoul and the metropolitan area. Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) will lead, and other local corporations will follow. There are some issues with supply-demand imbalance in locations, and we will pay more attention to demand and location going forward.

▲ There are opinions that public rental housing supply through redevelopment projects is delayed due to current government regulations. Do you expect no setbacks?

= The numbers are based on projects already selected and under preparation or progress. We do not foresee major problems.

▲ Even if housing benefit amounts are increased, rents in gosiwon and jjokbangchon tend to rise accordingly, resulting in little real support for recipients. Are there detailed countermeasures?

= The government is aware of this issue. However, since this is a private sector matter, rather than immediate measures, we are basically encouraging these individuals to move up to rental housing. In the long term, we plan to designate these areas as public housing districts or promote housing regeneration projects. Through this, we aim to prevent recipients from continuing to be exposed to deteriorated housing facilities and suffering damages.

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