If You Have a Child Under 6, You Can Now Apply for 'Shinhon Hope Town' Housing Allocation

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The plan to recognize children under the age of 6 as part of newlywed couples will be expanded not only to public rental housing but also to sale housing.

On the 18th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that it will expand the eligibility for the Sale-type Newlywed Hope Town, which was previously granted only to newlywed couples or prospective newlyweds within 7 years of marriage, to households with children under the age of 6. The related details are scheduled to be implemented in July after going through legislative notice and review by the Ministry of Government Legislation.

Earlier in March, the Ministry had announced through the 'Housing Welfare Roadmap 2.0' that it would promote expanding the eligibility for newlywed-related public rental housing to households with infants and young children. However, at that time, the Ministry limited the expansion of related criteria to rental housing, stating that it was "not related to sale housing."

Regarding the changed stance from before, the Ministry explained, "There were opinions from related organizations such as the Low Fertility and Aging Society Committee and requests from families with infants and young children through the National Petition System," adding, "After comprehensively considering the need for childcare service support, it was decided to expand to the Sale-type Newlywed Hope Town as well."

Currently, the Ministry plans to complete the sale of all 100,000 sale-type units out of 150,000 Newlywed Hope Town units by 2025. Within this year, a total of 8,006 units will be put up for sale, including 294 units in Wirye New Town, 1,438 units in Gohyang Janghang, and 645 units in Gwacheon Knowledge Information Town.

The Newlywed Hope Town is designed with various childcare-specialized features under the motto of creating a child-friendly environment. Childcare centers will be established at twice the legally required standard, and specialized designs such as safe school routes, diverse play environments, and noise reduction between floors will be introduced.

Meanwhile, the Ministry plans to supply 400,000 rental housing units for newlywed couples by 2025, including specialized construction rentals and purchased rental housing. In particular, for specialized construction rentals, childcare-specialized facilities and designs such as national and public childcare centers and childcare sharing spaces will be applied, and these will be developed in excellent locations with high demand from newlywed couples, such as urban areas.

Lee Byung-hoon, Director of Public Housing at the Ministry, said, "We will continue to promote customized housing support for newlywed couples so that they do not hesitate to marry or delay childbirth due to housing problems."

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