The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Urgently Establishes a Dedicated Department for 'Housing Supply in the Seoul Metropolitan Area' to Stabilize Housing Prices

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Establishes New Division Under Public Housing Headquarters
Responsible for New Projects in Downtown Seoul and Gentrification of Shantytowns
Handles Numerous Tasks Including Local Resident Opposition and Countermeasures
Expands Organization for Work Distribution... Focus on 3rd New Town Development

The area around Gyosan District, Hanam City, Gyeonggi Province, the 3rd New Town (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has expanded its related organization to stably and swiftly advance the '300,000 housing units in the metropolitan area' supply plan.

With the increase in new housing supply sites through the August 4th measures, and the need for supplementary measures in transportation and environmental sectors, the ministry intends to enhance project momentum by adding a dedicated department.

According to the government on the 6th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport established the 'Public Housing Site Development Division' under the Public Housing Headquarters and began full-scale operations from the day before. Accordingly, the Public Housing Headquarters has expanded to a three-division system, including the existing Public Housing Site Planning Division and Public Housing Site Management Division.

Previously, after announcing the plan to supply 300,000 housing units in the metropolitan area in 2018-2019, the government established the Public Housing Site Planning Division, which is dedicated to promoting the 3rd New Town projects.

The reason for establishing the Public Housing Site Development Division is that the government’s recent various housing supply measures have overloaded the related departments.

In August, the government announced plans to supply an additional 33,000 units in areas such as Taereung Golf Course in Nowon-gu, Seoul, Camp Kim in Yongsan-gu, and the Gwacheon Government Complex site in Gyeonggi Province as part of the metropolitan supply expansion measures. Since pre-sale applications will be implemented from next year targeting the 3rd New Town and newly added districts, swift project advancement is necessary.

The Public Housing Site Development Division will be responsible for small-scale new public housing projects within downtown Seoul and public housing projects in shantytown areas near Yeongdeungpo Station in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. The Public Housing Site Planning Division will focus more on existing 3rd New Town plans and large-scale development projects in Seoul such as Taereung Country Club.

A Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport official explained, "Among the 300,000 housing units supply plan in the metropolitan area, 40,000 units are included in downtown Seoul, and the newly established division will oversee that part. As new districts continue to be announced, the number of plans requiring detailed review has increased, so this is a matter of workload division."

In fact, as the government rapidly increased new housing sites to stabilize housing prices, opposition voices have emerged in various places, expressing concerns about traffic congestion, environmental pollution, and housing price declines. Seoul’s Mapo and Nowon districts and Gwacheon City in Gyeonggi Province, announced in the August 4th measures, are representative examples.

Regarding Taereung Country Club, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport recently set a policy to promote integrated development with the public housing site near Guri Galmae Station area, but not only residents of Nowon-gu but also local governments are opposing, saying, "The housing complex will become high-density, accelerating the transformation into a bedroom community."

In response, the government is also making efforts to reduce resident opposition by increasing the Public Housing Headquarters staff by seven people, including separate quotas, and changing the dispatching department from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to the Ministry of Environment.

A Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport official explained, "Since environmental issues are now more emphasized, there are many parts to consult with the Ministry of Environment, so the dispatching department was changed." Another official said, "The traffic measures for Taereung are currently being developed through a commissioned study and are expected to be completed around early next year," adding, "We are also continuously communicating with the city council and others regarding Gwacheon."

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