Tears of the Homeless 4050s Hit by 'Teukgong'

Favoritism-Driven Overheating in Subscription
Concentration of Benefits for Newlyweds Reduces General Supply
Controversy Over Reverse Discrimination Against Long-Term Non-Homeowners

On the 8th, the view of apartment complexes in Seoul city from the Seoul Sky observatory at Lotte World Tower, where Seoul apartment prices have been rising for the 18th consecutive week and Jeonse prices for the 67th consecutive week. According to the weekly apartment price trend announced by the Korea Real Estate Board on that day, as of the 5th, Seoul apartment sale prices rose by 0.01% and Jeonse prices by 0.08%, showing only a 0.01 percentage point decrease compared to the previous week's increase. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] "A homeless head of household in their 50s appeals tearfully. Please change the subscription system."

Recently, a post by a woman in her 50s, who identified herself as a single mother raising two children, was uploaded on the Blue House National Petition board. Despite working hard for 30 years, she remains homeless and criticized the government's housing policy for low-income citizens as being overly focused on special supply (teukgong) for newlyweds. She appealed, saying, "Everywhere is special supply for newlyweds," and added, "Middle-aged heads of households who have worked ordinary jobs for decades, paid taxes, raised children, and moved from one rental to another also need homes."

As the proportion of special supply for newlyweds and others increases in housing allocation, controversy over reverse discrimination against long-term homeless people is expanding. This is because the increase in special supply reduces the amount of general supply. While the general supply decreases, the number of subscription account holders steadily rises, turning the subscription market into a battlefield. In the market, there is a growing demand to uphold the 'first-in, first-out' principle, which benefits long-term homeless people with longer subscription account periods.

According to the Korea Real Estate Board's Subscription Home on the 29th, 20,381 people applied for 979 general sale units at Songdo Jaeg Crystal Ocean in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, held the previous day. The competition rate was 20.8 to 1, meaning 19,402 people were rejected?a true 'subscription war.' The perceived competition rate is even higher. For the 84㎡ (exclusive area) units, the competition rate reached a maximum of 76.2 to 1. This result is due to the allocation of units. The general supply units under 85㎡, which are all selected by the point system, numbered 294 units, more than 100 units fewer than the special supply (404 units). The general supply units have become a more special quantity than the special supply.

Private sector-supplied private housing has a relatively better general supply ratio of 50%. In the case of public housing directly supplied by the government or local governments, the general supply excluding special supply for first-time buyers, newlyweds, and multi-child families is only 15%.

As a result, winning a subscription is like picking stars from the sky. On the 12th of this month, the average competition rate for Wirye Jaeg The City in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, soared to 617 to 1. With the cutoff score for winning under the point system, which has a perfect score of 84 points, expected to be at least in the high 60s, it is predicted that single-child households will be unable to win no matter how long their subscription or homeless period is. This is because the maximum score a three-person household can receive is only 64 points.

Yoon Jihae, a researcher at Real Estate 114, said, "While special supply for newlyweds is necessary to address the low birthrate issue, it is necessary to find a compromise so that policy benefits are not excessively concentrated."

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