Seoul City Offers Up to 400,000 KRW Moving Expense Support for Youth... Priority Given to Socially Vulnerable Groups in Semi-basement and Gosiwon Housing

The First 'Youth Moving Expense Support Project' by Metropolitan Governments Begins... 5,000 People Aged 19-39 Who Moved This Year
Actual Moving Costs Such as Vehicle Rental and Packing Fees Supported Up to 400,000 KRW

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government is launching a support program for "moving expenses" to alleviate the housing cost burden for young people in vulnerable housing situations. Actual moving costs such as vehicle rental fees, transportation fees, and packing fees will be reimbursed up to 400,000 KRW. Priority support will be given to socially vulnerable groups, including young people living in poor housing conditions such as semi-basements, rooftop rooms, and goshiwon, as well as disabled individuals and young people preparing for independence (former wards).

On the 5th, Seoul announced that it will start the "Youth Moving Expense Support Project," the first of its kind among metropolitan governments, selecting and supporting 5,000 young people who moved this year. This project aims to reduce the moving cost burden for young people who move frequently and live in relatively poor housing conditions, and it was a policy directly proposed by young people.

According to Seoul, young people tend to have shorter residence periods and move more frequently than other generations due to various reasons such as independence, university admission, employment, and job changes. The average residence period is 1.4 years, which is about one-fifth of the 6.2 years for general households.

Additionally, most single-person households of young people living in Seoul (93.4%) are rental households under jeonse or monthly rent, with 65.8% living in monthly rent (compared to 28.5% for general households), indicating unstable housing conditions. Among young single-person households, 46.1% live in monthly rent under 400,000 KRW, and 37.7% live in poor environments known as "Jiokgo" (semi-basement, rooftop rooms, goshiwon).

Seoul will accept online applications through the "Youth Mongttang Information Center" for three weeks until the 26th, select and announce the beneficiaries in November, and provide moving expense support by December. Detailed support criteria and required documents can be found in the notices on the Youth Mongttang Information Center. For further inquiries, contact the Dasan Call Center or the Seoul Youth Moving Expense Support Project Call Center.

Eligible applicants are young households aged 19 to 39 (born between 1982 and 2003 according to the resident registration) who moved into Seoul or relocated within Seoul after January 1, 2022. Applicants must be heads of households or tenants without home ownership, with a monthly income at or below 120% of the median income, living in buildings with a rental deposit of 50 million KRW or less and monthly rent of 400,000 KRW or less. Those who own a house, have received moving expense support from central government or local districts after moving into or within Seoul since January 1, 2022, rent from buildings owned by parents, or receive housing benefits as national basic livelihood security recipients are excluded from applying.

If the number of applicants meeting age, income, and residence requirements exceeds the selection quota (about 5,000), priority will be given to socially vulnerable and housing-vulnerable young people, followed by those with lower income levels. Seoul will verify eligibility and check for duplicate benefits, select the final beneficiaries in November, and announce them on the "Youth Mongttang Information Center." Individual notifications will be sent via text message, and moving expense payments will be made by December.

Kim Cheol-hee, head of the Seoul Future Youth Planning Team, said, "We hope this will provide practical help to young people burdened by frequent moving costs and will be an important step in youth housing policy under the 8th administration. Especially, during the screening process, we will prioritize socially vulnerable youth and those urgently needing housing welfare support to strengthen the safety net for young people and realize the value of 'walking together with the vulnerable.'"

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