Busan Urban Corporation Strengthens Integrity in Existing Home Purchase and Lease Program... 152 Units Acquired

Expansion of External Review Committee Members... Enhanced Transparency and Fairness

This Year's Target: 200 Units, Remaining Purchases and Supply Scheduled for Second Half

Busan Metropolitan Corporation (BMC) purchased 152 existing housing units (youth type) in the first half of 2024 to support local youth struggling with housing issues.

The existing housing purchase and lease project is a public rental housing initiative in which the corporation acquires existing multi-family and multi-unit houses, row houses, and residential officetels in urban areas, renovates them, and then supplies them at prices lower than the market rate.

Approximately 200 housing units are continuously purchased each year, and as of July this year, 2,869 units are under management. By the end of the year, an additional 48 existing housing units will be purchased and newly supplied.

To strengthen transparency and fairness in the process of purchasing existing housing, BMC is implementing various improvements, such as increasing the proportion of external members in the purchase review committee and introducing measures for reporting and sanctioning misconduct such as bribery.

To this end, in the '2024 Housing Purchase Announcement' released last March, improvements were reflected by clearly stating in the notice that those involved in bribery or misconduct are prohibited from applying. Sellers and real estate agents involved in misconduct related to housing purchases will be banned from applying for housing purchases for 10 years from the date of sanction confirmation.

Additionally, the operating guidelines for the purchase review committee related to existing housing purchases have been revised. The amendment expands the proportion of external review committee members and adjusts voting rights to ensure fair and transparent housing purchases. Starting this year, all voting members of the review committee will be external members (up to seven), and the chairperson will not be granted voting rights.

The regulations regarding the term and reappointment of external members have been abolished, and new external members will be appointed for each session. It is now mandatory for review committee members to submit a pledge of integrity and a pre-diagnosis of job ethics to prevent bribery and misconduct. The qualifications for external members have also been strengthened, requiring relevant certifications and at least five years of practical experience in the field.

Kim Yonghak, President of Busan Metropolitan Corporation, stated, "By excluding internal members from the purchase of existing housing and composing the committee entirely of external members, we aim to prevent misconduct and bribery. In addition, by strengthening sanctions against those involved in misconduct and enhancing the qualification requirements for external members, we will do our best to increase transparency and fairness in our operations and become a trusted public enterprise for the citizens of Busan."

Busan Urban Corporation

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