President Yoon Suk Yeol has pledged to facilitate the reconstruction of homes that are 30 years old or older, even if they meet safety requirements, to enhance housing conditions and augment the overall home supply.
It was expressed during a policy debate where the President engaged with the land ministry and the public, marking the second in a series of government policy briefings for the new year.
The government has introduced measures to stimulate new housing and development projects. It includes the removal of green-belt restrictions around the capital area, a move designed to reinvigorate housing projects that have recently experienced a decline across the country. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport unveiled these measures during a government policy debate forum attended by President Yoon Suk Yeol in Goyang, northwest of Seoul.
President Yoon Suk Yeol has emphasized the government’s aim to ease redevelopment and reconstruction regulations. He stated, “Our government will completely ease redevelopment and reconstruction regulations. We will allow homes at least 30 years old to begin reconstruction immediately without a safety inspection.” Currently, the existing regulations necessitate a home failing a safety inspection to be eligible for redevelopment or reconstruction.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport has outlined plans to expand the supply of public housing this year. The strategy involves exploring new development sites to surpass the initial goal of 125,000 units, targeting an increase to over 140,000.
The initiative includes utilizing green-belt zones and unused land within the greater Seoul area to identify new development opportunities, contributing an additional 20,000 units to address the ongoing challenge of housing supply inadequacy. President Yoon Suk Yeol expressed the urgency of the matter, stating that the persistently high house prices, particularly in Seoul, pose a problem, with the capital’s house prices being 15.2 times higher than the average annual income in 2022.
Under the newly introduced measure, homes meeting specific criteria, such as deteriorating living conditions due to issues like insufficient parking spaces, excessive inter-floor noise, or plumbing problems, will be eligible for reconstruction.
Notable areas in Seoul with a large number of residential properties over 30 years old that fail to meet safety-related requirements include Nowon, Gangnam, Gangseo, and Dobong. Similarly, these properties are most numerous in the surrounding Gyeonggi Province in Ansan, Suwon, Gwangmyeong, and Pyeongtaek.
To address the housing shortage further, the government aims to secure an additional supply of over 30,000 housing units in the capital region. This involves adjusting floor area ratio rules by more than five percentage points and revising the ratio of public parks and green spaces to optimize land use.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport also committed to expediting new city-level development projects by more than six months, utilizing financing programs facilitated by new real estate investment trusts established through various public-private funds. Additionally, plans include inviting more private construction companies to participate in public housing projects to enhance efficiency and collaboration in meeting the growing housing demand.
President Yoon Suk Yeol has pledged to dismantle the taxation system, imposing higher taxes on owners of multiple homes, asserting that the existing scheme has adversely affected ordinary citizens.
During the policy forum, discussions also centered around implementing measures to offer liquidity support for the construction sector, specifically aimed at facilitating the financing of home-building projects.
