Supply of 30,000 Multi-Child Public Rental Housing Units... Comprehensive Support from Identification to Assistance Provided

▲ Infographic on Strengthening Housing Support Measures Including Guaranteeing Children's Housing Rights (Provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The government is taking steps to guarantee children's housing rights by supplying dedicated public rental housing for multi-child families and strengthening rapid support in connection with non-profit child welfare organizations.

On the 4th, a day before Children's Day, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that it signed a "Business Agreement for Guaranteeing Children's Housing Rights" in Siheung City, Gyeonggi Province, together with non-profit child welfare organizations such as Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), Good Neighbors, Save the Children, and Green Umbrella Children's Foundation.

The main content of this agreement is to establish a hotline between child welfare organizations' identification of migration needs for impoverished and at-risk children and LH's housing support. Until now, even when emergency housing support requests were received by child welfare organizations, it took four months due to transfer to local governments and waiting for move-in, resulting in delayed support. However, with this business agreement, a "dedicated window for housing support for at-risk children" has been newly established at LH, creating a system that connects "child welfare organizations' demand identification → immediate LH support," which is expected to reduce the application-to-move-in period to about two months.

Various follow-up support measures will also be prepared. Even after moving into public rental housing, comprehensive support will be provided by linking various support programs from child welfare organizations, such as life-cycle play kit support for child care, experiences, and education, and child rights education for parents. Additionally, childcare facilities, playgrounds, and safety facilities within public housing complexes will be continuously expanded, and channels will be established to directly reflect the voices of children, the actual users, in this process.

Conceptual Diagram of Multi-Child Public Remodeling (Provided by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

On this day in Jeongwang-dong, Siheung City, the move-in ceremony for "1024 First Home," the first dedicated public rental housing for multi-child families, which is a result of the "Measures to Strengthen Housing Support including Guaranteeing Children's Housing Rights" jointly announced last October by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport along with the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and Ministry of Justice, was also held.

This first housing unit is a remodeled house purchased from narrow, old studio apartments into two or more rooms suitable for multi-child families. Accordingly, the housing, which previously consisted of 11 studio units and 1 two-room unit, has been converted into 1 three-room unit and 2 two-room units.

All tenant households receive benefits of either free deposit or a 50% reduction, and the monthly rent is set at about 280,000 KRW, ensuring that recipients of housing benefits have no additional burden.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to supply a total of 2,500 dedicated public rental housing units for multi-child families this year, including 500 remodeled units and 2,000 jeonse rental units, starting with this first project. Furthermore, the plan is to double the supply next year and provide 30,000 units by 2025.

To enhance convenience for tenants, supply will focus on purchased and jeonse rental housing near their existing residences so that children can move without changing schools. Also, to secure appropriate living space, the support amount per household will be increased up to 230 million KRW for remodeled units, enabling move-in to two-room or larger housing suitable for the number of children.

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mi urged at the signing ceremony, "Related organizations should work together to provide customized housing support and systematic welfare services so that our children can grow up healthy and balanced." At the subsequent move-in ceremony, she said, "It is meaningful as the first policy case prepared from the children's perspective," and added, "I hope it will help improve the lives of multi-child families."

Kim Ga-young (pseudonym), a prospective tenant of the first housing unit, said, "As a working mom raising three children, housing is the biggest issue," and added, "With strengthened government support, I hope many public rental housing units suitable for the number of children will be supplied so that multi-child families like mine can worry less about housing."

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