One in three employed young people is using more than 20% of their earned income for housing costs. The average expenditure is 486,000 won. The housing cost burden in metropolitan areas, such as Seoul, was higher than in non-metropolitan areas. The increase in housing cost burdens is likely to lead to delays or abandonment of marriage and childbirth, highlighting the need to reduce the housing burden on young people.
According to a report titled "Factors Determining Housing Costs for Young Single-Person Households" released by the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, the average housing cost for employed young single-person households was recorded at 486,000 won. Their average earned income is 3,335,000 won per month, making the housing cost burden approximately 16.5% of their average monthly income.
The proportion of young people spending less than 450,000 won on housing costs exceeded half, at 50.4%. The remaining 49.6% were spending more than 450,000 won each month on housing. The percentage of those using between 600,000 won and 800,000 won for housing costs was 16.1%. Additionally, the proportion spending more than 800,000 won reached 10.6%.
The percentage of young people whose housing cost burden exceeds 20% of their monthly income reached 29.5%. One in three young households is using more than 20% of their salary for housing costs. Furthermore, 9.7% of young people were spending more than 30% of their monthly income on housing. In contrast, 30% reported that their housing cost burden did not exceed 10% of their monthly income.
Regionally, the housing cost expenditure burden for young people employed in metropolitan areas, such as Seoul, was relatively larger than in non-metropolitan areas. The report noted that "if other conditions are equal, those living in Seoul had a ratio of housing expenditures to earned income that is approximately 9.7% higher than young single-person households employed in the Chungcheong area, which was used as a baseline," adding, "For residents of Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, the figure was higher by about 6.2%."
Younger people's housing cost burden decreased as their earned income increased. For those working in enterprises with more than 300 employees, the proportion of housing costs to monthly income was about 5.1% lower than for young people working in enterprises with 1 to 4 employees. The report stated, "As earned income rises, while the actual housing expenditure increases, the ratio of housing costs to monthly income is lower," and analyzed that "if other conditions are the same, those employed in relatively larger enterprises tend to have lower housing expenditures or lower housing costs compared to their monthly income."
Calls for social efforts to reduce the housing burden on young people have emerged. It has been pointed out that as the housing cost burden for young people increases, it can be a factor leading to the abandonment of marriage and childbirth, resulting in social losses. The report mentioned, "The housing cost burden for young people is by no means low," and underlined that it is not an exaggeration to say that in a situation where a significant portion of their income must be spent to address essential housing issues, the possibility of delaying or foregoing marriage and childbirth exists.
The report further stated, "While job location, residence, and decisions surrounding housing costs are extremely personal choices, given that significant factors determining housing costs include excess demand for housing due to population concentration, our society needs to collectively consider how to solve these housing issues and alleviate the housing burden for these individuals."