"No More Moving Worries Every 2 Years"… Seoul City Introduces Child-Friendly Housing with Up to 12 Years of Residence Guarantee

'O Sehun's Low Birthrate Measures' Part 5
Up to 12 Years Residency Guarantee
Scheduled to Start Construction in 2025

Seoul City, which has been presenting a relay of ‘Oh Se-hoon’s low birthrate measures,’ has newly announced a ‘housing’ policy. The core idea is to catch two birds with one stone?addressing the biggest concerns of caregivers, ‘housing issues’ and ‘care burden’?by supplying the nation’s first child-friendly housing called ‘Childcare-Friendly Housing Aisarang Home.’

Seoul City announced these low birthrate measures on the 28th. This policy is the fifth low birthrate measure following support for infertile couples, pregnant women, multi-child families, and newlyweds. While previous measures focused on policy targets, this time the emphasis is on creating ‘spaces’ that consider the life cycle of caregiving families.

‘Childcare-Friendly Housing Aisarang Home’ is a residential model optimized for childcare. It guarantees stable residence for up to 12 years so that families can live without worrying about moving while raising children, and it is supplied at 35-90% of the surrounding market price depending on income level to reduce financial burden.

In particular, the same building is equipped with infrastructure such as Seoul-style kids cafes, neighborhood care centers, daycare centers, and hospitals, allowing all childcare-related needs to be met within one building.

‘Childcare-Friendly Housing Aisarang Home’ will be promoted in three types according to housing size and location requirements: complex cultural type, regional hub type, and community integration type. After preparation procedures, construction is planned to start as early as 2025, with phased openings from 2027. Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH) will build and supply the housing.

The eligibility for ‘Childcare-Friendly Housing Aisarang Home’ requires applicants to be homeless and meet income criteria according to ‘public housing entry conditions,’ with a certain portion of units easing income requirements to lower entry barriers. The residence period varies depending on the number of children (6 years for one child under 12, 12 years for two or more), and higher scores will be given for younger children including fetuses and for families with more children.

Alongside promoting the publicly developed and supplied ‘Childcare-Friendly Housing Aisarang Home,’ the city will also launch a new certification system next year for existing and newly built private apartments that provide a child-friendly environment. To this end, comprehensive certification criteria will be established to prove that the environment is child-friendly, including the presence of kindergartens and medical facilities nearby, installation of noise-reducing flooring, and safe pedestrian paths. Apartments certified as ‘Childcare-Friendly Housing Aisarang Home’ will receive incentives such as floor area ratio bonuses, certification marks, additional floor area ratio for care facilities and childcare infrastructure, and priority support for Seoul’s childcare support projects (such as daycare center programs) within the complex.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said, “The phenomenon of young people of marriageable age moving out of Seoul after marriage and having children is accelerating. We will actively supply ‘Childcare-Friendly Housing Aisarang Home,’ where caregivers, children, and local residents raising children can all be happy, creating an environment where children can be stably raised in Seoul.”

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