493 Senior Welfare Housing Units to Be Built in 7 Locations Including Gwangju, Gyeonggi

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Announces 2nd Project Sites for 2022

Conceptual diagram of senior welfare housing.
Photo by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Wanyong] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 7th that it has selected a total of seven locations as the second project sites for 2022 for ‘Senior Welfare Housing’: Gyeyang-gu in Incheon, Gwangju-si and two locations in Namyangju-si in Gyeonggi-do, Pyeongchang-gun in Gangwon-do, Sunchang-gun in Jeollabuk-do, and Hadong-gun in Gyeongsangnam-do.

Senior Welfare Housing is a project that creates rental housing with barrier-free design and social welfare facilities together to ensure housing stability for the elderly, aiming to supply a total of 5,000 households by 2027.

The selection of the second project sites was made through a comprehensive review of proposals from local governments and other public housing operators regarding the scale of rental housing, cost-sharing plans, installation and operation plans for social welfare facilities, as well as site suitability and demand feasibility through on-site investigations and evaluation committees.

Four locations proposed by local governments?Gwangju-si Yeokdong (50 units), Pyeongchang-gun (68 units), Sunchang-gun (50 units), and Hadong-gun (25 units)?and three locations proposed by Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH)?Namyangju Wangsuk S-18 Block (100 units), Namyangju Wangsuk2 A-9 Block (100 units), and Incheon Gyeyang A-18 Block (100 units)?were selected, totaling 493 households.

In particular, the four locations proposed by local governments all have an aging rate (27?35.9%) significantly higher than the national average (17%), indicating a high demand for elderly housing.

Gwangju-si Yeokdong in Gyeonggi-do plans to provide elderly-specialized welfare services such as visiting services in connection with the nearby Residential Welfare Center scheduled to open next year. Pyeongchang-gun, Sunchang-gun, and Hadong-gun plan to include elderly-specialized welfare facilities such as healthcare rooms, physical therapy rooms, hobby and leisure activity rooms like singing and sports rooms, senior health dining facilities, and educational spaces.

The three locations proposed by Korea Land and Housing Corporation plan to operate meal support for seniors, cultural arts, and health programs in cooperation with local governments.

The selected local governments will negotiate cost-sharing with the project implementer (Korea Land and Housing Corporation), sign agreements, and then proceed with project implementation procedures such as approval of housing construction plans. Applications for Senior Welfare Housing move-in can be made at the LH My Home Center, and next year, 265 households across three locations will recruit residents.

Kim Hongmok, Director of Housing Welfare Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, “Senior Welfare Housing is public rental housing that provides affordable rental housing along with customized housing welfare services for the elderly such as nursing, care, and jobs,” adding, “We will do our best to ensure that the seven selected locations can be utilized as senior housing welfare platforms that comprehensively support housing and welfare in their regions.”

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