62,000 Public Housing Units to Break Ground in Greater Seoul This Year... Targeting 70,000 Next Year

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on April 15 that it held a public housing supply review meeting with Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH), Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH), Gyeonggi Housing & Urban Development Corporation (GH), and Incheon Housing & City Development Corporation (iH) to assess the current situation.

First, the ministry forecast that it would be able to proceed as planned with the groundbreaking of 62,000 units this year without any setbacks. Construction will begin in new towns from the third phase, including 18,200 units in Namyangju Wangsuk 1 and 2 and Goyang Changneung, as well as in Seoul Seongdui Village, Seongnam Nakseong, and Dongtan 2. If this year’s groundbreaking proceeds as planned, the ministry explained, it would be nearly double the average annual supply of the past five years (32,000 units).

Next year, the ministry set a goal to break ground on more than 70,000 units. Starting this year, it will not only manage the groundbreaking targets but also set and manage targets for prior stages such as site development and compensation. This is intended to prevent delays and to move up the groundbreaking schedule. Since groundbreaking has tended to be concentrated at the end of the year, the ministry decided to start construction on more than 10,000 units in the first half of the year to advance the supply timeline.

Yongsan International Business District site, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

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The meeting also discussed efforts to shorten project duration at key sites. For example, the Seoripul District 1 completed its designation process in February, four months ahead of schedule, by shortening the consultation period with the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy. In the Gwangmyeong Siheung district, the investigation, assessment, and compensation processes were carried out simultaneously, reducing the timeline by four months compared to the original plan.

In five new towns from the third phase, task forces for relocation, demolition, and cultural heritage are being operated. In Hanam Gyosan district, the temporary relocation of power transmission lines advanced the groundbreaking schedule by three years. The Namyangju Wangsuk and Incheon Gyeyang projects also moved forward by expediting the consultation process.

This year, LH set its investment scale at 40.7 trillion won, an increase from the average annual investment of the past five years (32.5 trillion won). Kim Itak, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated, "Increasing the speed of housing supply is important, but now we must prove our results," adding, "Please break from past practices, review administrative procedures and project management from scratch, and come up with additional measures to further accelerate the process."

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