Yoon: "Reconstruction of Houses Over 30 Years Without Safety Inspection... Will Change Regulations on Multi-Homeowners" (Comprehensive)

Second 'Minsheng Debate'... After Prices, Now Checking Housing Issues
Visiting First-Generation New Towns, Promising to Lift Redevelopment Regulations... "Will Fully Relax"
Multi-Homeowner Regulation Reform Announced... Yoon: "Punitive Taxation Is Wrong"
Criticizing Previous Government's Regulatory Policy, Saying "Blocking Property Rights Is a Pitiful Situation"

President Yoon Suk-yeol announced on the 10th, "Houses that have been aging for over 30 years will be allowed to start reconstruction immediately without safety inspections," signaling an expansion of housing supply through deregulation of maintenance projects. Since excessive regulations on redevelopment and reconstruction projects during the previous administration caused a supply shortage, the plan is to ease these restrictions and normalize the market. He also promised to abolish regulations on multi-homeowners. This is based on the judgment that punitive taxation on multi-homeowners ultimately affects tenants, so reducing their burden aims to resolve supply shortages in the rental market.

On the morning of the same day, President Yoon held the second "Public Livelihood Discussion" under the theme "Housing Desired by the People" at Aram Nuri in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, and revealed the government's new year housing policy direction by stating, "Our government will completely lift redevelopment and reconstruction regulations."

President Yoon Suk-yeol is speaking at the Public Livelihood Discussion Meeting held on the 10th at Goyang Aram Nuri in Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province, under the theme "Housing Desired by the People." Photo by Yonhap News.

This discussion was organized to hear the public's voice on one of the major livelihood issues, the "housing problem," following last week's on-site inspection of "price management," and to find solutions without departmental barriers. Before the discussion, President Yoon visited Baeksong Village Complex 5, inspected the underground parking lot and inside the units, and said, "We will actively support the rapid reconstruction of the aging first-generation new towns." Baeksong Village Complex 5 is the first completed complex within Ilsan New Town and is a 33-year-old aging apartment this year.

President Yoon's on-site visit was to directly observe the residential environment of the aging first-generation new towns and to listen to residents' desired directions for the maintenance of aging planned cities ahead of the enforcement of the "Special Act on Maintenance and Support of Aging Planned Cities (First-generation New Town Special Act)" enacted in December last year. President Yoon visited the underground parking lot with representatives from the residents' association and the reconstruction promotion committee to confirm aging issues such as lack of parking spaces and falling ceiling finishes. He also personally inspected inside the units to check for problems like leaks and internal cracks, pointing out that "the inconvenience caused by aging is at a serious level."

During the discussion, the government presented specific directions for deregulation. President Yoon said, "Houses older than 30 years will be allowed to start reconstruction without safety inspections," and added, "We will transform aging planned cities, including Ilsan, into cities where anyone wants to live." Support measures include ▲establishment of a future city fund ▲exemption from safety inspections ▲floor area ratio increase up to 500% ▲priority establishment of public relocation complexes.

Regarding the excessive market regulations of the previous government, he criticized, "From a national perspective, if residents want to collectively exercise their property rights and the government blocks that, it is a regrettable situation." President Yoon's judgment is that the strengthening of redevelopment and reconstruction regulations out of concern for rising housing prices resulted in people living in less safe residential environments. A senior official from the presidential office explained, "To solve the public's housing problems, the intention is to free redevelopment and reconstruction from politics and ideology so that normal economic principles can operate."

President Yoon Suk-yeol is speaking at the Public Discussion on Livelihoods with the People held on the 10th at Goyang Aram Nuri in Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province, under the theme "Housing Desired by the People."
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Regarding overlapping regulations on multi-homeowners, he announced, "We will completely change them." President Yoon said, "Rental housing naturally comes from multi-homeowners' properties, but if punitive taxation is imposed just because someone owns multiple houses, that burden is passed on to the weaker tenants," and expressed concern, "It is wrong to impose punitive taxation on multi-homeowners as if they are immoral, and the damage will be borne by ordinary people."

The determination to abolish regulations and support aging maintenance projects such as first-generation new towns has been emphasized by President Yoon multiple times even before his inauguration. A representative example is the "First-generation New Town Special Act," which relaxes reconstruction safety inspection regulations and increases floor area ratios on land plots above a certain size to accelerate maintenance projects. After taking office, President Yoon also instructed then Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong to "prepare practical measures for the first-generation new town reconstruction pilot zones."

This policy stance was also reflected in this year's New Year's address. President Yoon expressed his intention to increase housing supply within cities by saying, "We will increase housing supply within cities so that people do not have to move to the outskirts in search of new homes." At last month's housing supply field meeting, he instructed, "Re-examine redevelopment and reconstruction procedures from scratch to dramatically speed up project progress." The core is to pursue market stabilization by simultaneously expanding supply and easing regulations.

Market responses are also evident. The number of safety inspections passed, which was only 65 cases in the past five years, has significantly increased. Last year alone, 163 cases passed, and the designation of maintenance zones, which averaged only 28,000 households annually, also more than doubled to 62,000 households last year. The Special Act on Aging Planned Cities, which fully reflects the government's deregulation direction announced that day, passed the National Assembly plenary session on the 8th of last month and is scheduled to be enforced in April.

On the same day, President Yoon emphasized the importance of "speedy policy implementation so that the public can feel the changes" in line with the government's new year policy direction of a "Moving Government." He reiterated the need for meticulous and swift support for detailed measures such as promoting reconstruction without safety inspections, easing redevelopment aging requirements, reducing tax burdens when supplying new small housing, and expanding private participation to supply 140,000 public housing units. He also instructed related ministries including the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and Financial Services Commission to "break down departmental barriers and boldly pursue regulatory reforms."

President Yoon Suk-yeol is inspecting the underground parking lot of an apartment complex at Baeksong Village Complex 5 in Ilsandong-gu, Goyang, Gyeonggi Province on the 10th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

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