Yoon Government Launches Full-Scale Housing Supply... Begins by Finding 'Ijubuji' for Rental Housing

- Prioritize Renovation of Aged Rental Housing... Resolve Relocation Issues for Existing Residents First
- Consider Purchasing Private Land Alongside Sites and Buildings Owned by Government-Affiliated Agencies

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] The government has begun the task of finding new sites to supply rental housing. This is part of the renovation project for aging rental housing, aimed at resolving the relocation issues of current tenants and utilizing the sites for rental housing in the mid to long term. The scope of review is expected to expand to include not only underutilized public land but also privately owned sites.

According to the Presidential Office on the 21st, the government has started discussions to establish relocation measures for public rental housing as a follow-up to the "Housing Sector Livelihood Stabilization Plan" jointly announced by related ministries the day before. This comes just three days after President Yoon ordered Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong to "prioritize housing stability and housing welfare, which are key to livelihood stabilization." A Presidential Office official explained, "The core of this announcement is to manage and supply rental housing to stabilize housing for low-income citizens," adding, "Since aging rental housing renovation can improve aging conditions and secure additional units, detailed roadmaps will be developed by related ministries and agencies."

In this regard, it has been confirmed that related ministries and agencies have selected "renovation of aging rental housing" as the top priority to increase rental housing supply and have begun discovering new sites. In Seoul alone, where 34 complexes with 39,802 households are concentrated, it is judged that relocation and transfer measures for the voluntary relocation of existing residents must be established first.

Underutilized public land owned by the government is most frequently mentioned as new sites. Utilization plans for leftover land or buildings owned by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Seoul City, and government-affiliated agencies will be reviewed, and purchasing and utilizing privately owned sites is also a target. An official who attended the Emergency Economic Livelihood Meeting the day before said, "Except for redevelopment, there is not much land available for general supply or rental housing construction, so the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Seoul City, and affiliated agencies are all struggling to find land," predicting, "Ultimately, purchasing privately owned sites to build rental housing will be inevitable."

The government plans to build rental housing on the secured sites to use them as relocation complexes for rental residents, and after the aging rental housing renovation project is completed, to utilize them as other rental housing. The existing aging rental housing is planned to significantly increase the number of units through renovation, and expansion through remodeling is actually being discussed.

Political movements are also anticipated. The People Power Party is independently promoting the "Aging Public Rental Housing Rebirth Project" in line with President Yoon’s election pledge. Included in the Yoon administration’s national agenda, this project aims to improve the quality of aging public rental housing by applying optimal renovation plans such as complex development or remodeling depending on the degree of aging and individual conditions. The Junggye Jugong 1 Complex in Seoul, inspected by the party leadership in May, is mentioned as a pilot complex, and legal amendments such as improving approval procedures and adjusting floor area ratios for rental housing renovation may be proposed.

The housing supply roadmap, which includes all general supply in addition to rental housing, will be unveiled in mid-next month. It is a five-year housing supply blueprint of the Yoon administration, including timing, location, and types. The original pledge of supplying 2.5 million households has been supplemented with "+α," including 500,000 public rental units and 500,000 youth housing units. However, due to concerns about speculation and other side effects, specific locations are unlikely to be fully disclosed. A senior government official stated, "There are concerns about land price increases and speculative demand concentration for new sites, and opposition from nearby residents is expected for rental housing sites, so the focus will be on conveying the government’s message to continuously promote supply for now."

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