Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo Proposes Special Housing Supply for Public Institution Employees Relocating to Daejeon

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Lee Jang-woo, mayor of Daejeon, requested the government to temporarily maintain the special housing supply for public institution employees relocated to local areas in Daejeon. This is to support the initial housing stability of public institution executives and employees relocating to the region.

According to Daejeon City on the 28th, Mayor Lee recently attended the '4 Major Local Councils Chairpersons' Dinner' held in Yongsan, Seoul, where he delivered a proposal letter containing this request to President Yoon Seok-yeol.

The core of the proposal is to temporarily apply the 'Special Housing Supply Operation Standards for Public Institution Employees Relocated to Local Areas,' which was suspended in December 2019, only in Daejeon until 2029.

This proposal reflects the situation where five public institutions will relocate to Daejeon by 2027. The institutions to be relocated include the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, Korea Meteorological Administration, Patent Strategy Development Institute, Korea Forestry Promotion Institute, and Meteorological Industry Technology Institute. The city expects the relocation procedures of these institutions to be completed by the end of 2029.

In other words, the city requested the government to extend the special housing supply period until the time when all public institutions relocating to Daejeon have fully moved.

The Korea Meteorological Administration has already relocated about 340 employees to the Government Complex Daejeon since early this year. Additionally, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration plans to start relocating about 240 employees, including the command and policy departments, to Daejeon in the first half of next year and complete the relocation by 2027.

The total number of executives and employees of public institutions relocating to Daejeon, including these institutions, is expected to be around 3,000.

The problem lies with these public institution employees who must relocate their residences along with their workplaces. When the special housing supply was available, apartment supply was relatively easier, but currently, securing housing for relocated public institution employees is challenging.

For example, in the case of public institutions relocated to Innovation Cities, the migration rate with families was about 58% when the special housing supply was in effect. However, considering the current situation where special housing supply is not possible, the city anticipates an inevitable decrease in the migration rate.

In the same context, the city argues that policy support is necessary to enable stable housing for employees and their families in line with the relocation of public institutions.

A city official stated, "We understand that Mayor Lee proposed the resumption of the special housing supply to help public institution employees relocating to Daejeon settle stably in the region," adding, "Considering the current depressed real estate market, the resumption of the special housing supply is not an unreasonable request."

Meanwhile, the city plans to establish safeguards to prevent the special housing supply from being exploited as a speculative tool if it is actually resumed. The plan includes temporarily granting non-homeowner status to public institution employees relocating to Daejeon until 2029 to enable special housing supply, while also preparing and promoting policy incentives that encourage long-term residence in the supplied housing.

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