Minister Kim Yun-duk of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) on the 29th emphasized, "In the past few years, the supply of dwellings in Seoul and the greater capital area has been very sluggish, and to resolve the anxiety that many people feel, we really 'scraped together everything down to the soul' to prepare."
On this day, after a joint briefing on the "plans to expand and expedite urban dwelling supply" held at Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul, the Minister stated accordingly when meeting with reporters. The Minister said, "During the previous administration, the most difficult issue in supplying apartments in the capital area was site selection," adding, "Many places already have dwellings supplied, and for the few remaining sites, we faced difficulties due to opposition from local governments and residents."
The Minister continued, "This time, we focused on selecting feasible sites, and some agencies moved forward on the premise of transfer," adding, "The reason for opposition from local governments and residents is aversion to building only dwellings, so we are continuing consultations with local governments, including Gwacheon, by combining measures such as activating self-sufficiency functions and creating jobs."
At a prior background briefing held earlier that day at Government Complex Sejong before the joint briefing, Lee Jae-pyeong, Director General for dwelling supply policy at the dwelling supply promotion headquarters of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), said, "In the process of actually pushing projects forward, there are matters that take a very long time, like preliminary feasibility studies," adding, "If necessary, we will ensure swift progress by exempting public corporations from preliminary feasibility studies."
The Director General cited as the biggest feature of this package that, unlike before, ministries across the government participated, rather than a transfer-only approach. The Director General said, "In the past, we had no choice but to pursue supply measures centered on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), the Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH), and local public corporations, but this time all ministries actively consulted through a meeting of related Ministers to promote dwelling supply," adding, "As a result, we were able to secure a large number of sites that can be utilized within the city center."
He added, "Even five years ago, although supply plans were released, there were cases where not enough prior consultations were held, leading not only residents but also related ministries to push back, but this time we did extensive groundwork to prevent such problems."
The following is a Q&A with the Minister, along with Kim Young-guk, head of the dwelling supply promotion headquarters at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), the Director General, and Cho Hyun-jun, head of the dwelling supply policy division at the dwelling supply promotion headquarters of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT).
— Seoul City says 8,000 units are realistic for the Yongsan International Business District. Is the consultation concluded?
The Minister "Of course there are points where we have differences with Seoul City, but we are continuing consultations. If the issue of school sites is adjusted through good consultations with the city's education office, we judge that additional supply can proceed. Discussions are actually proceeding smoothly, so in this announcement we expressed our intention to build up to a maximum of 10,000 units. We will push forward through good consultations with the city so that the public does not worry."
The Director General "As recently as two weeks ago, consultations on the scale of dwellings had not been reached even between Seoul City and the city education office. The education office was concerned that if the volume increased, elementary students' commuting distances would become longer. After lengthy consultations between MOLIT and the city education office, the education office judged that building schools in other student-generating areas could be an alternative. So the education office has no conflict over the volume, and since Seoul City holds the permitting authority, the direction is to consult with the city. As you know, the Yongsan maintenance depot site is state-owned land, so we conveyed to the city the view that the number of dwelling units should not be decided solely by economic or urban development logic. The volume may increase further later."
— If no agreement is reached, does MOLIT have a way to push the project forward by its own authority?
The Director General "There will inevitably be gestures from elected local government heads, and we humbly accept that. There is time ahead to consult. Because we continue to consult with local governments during the process of adjusting plans and designating districts, we can work things out. I don't think it's a simple binary of for or against."
— My understanding is that Taereung Country Club was pursued under the previous administration but stalled. What issues have been resolved?
The Minister "Previously, progress stalled because preparations for the World Heritage impact assessment were lacking, and there were differences with related ministries at the time, which also hindered progress. This time, MOLIT has prepared properly so we can obtain the World Heritage impact assessment as quickly as possible. Unlike in the past, the Korea Heritage Service and MOLIT have been consulting smoothly up to now."
— The volume from redeveloping aging government office complexes is significant. Looking at past developments, most were rental dwellings, and the exclusive areas were one-room types around 30 square meters. Will the future development form be similar?
The Minister "Aging office complexes will inevitably include some rental uses, and the buildings themselves may be completely demolished and rebuilt. We intend to proceed while leaving open the possibility that for-sale dwellings could be included."
Director Cho "By district, the supply types—such as Happy Housing, public rental, for-sale, and officetels—have not yet been finalized. Given the nature of aging government office complexes, small unit types, officetel-type, or dormitory-type units may be partially included."
— There appears to be pushback regarding the Gwacheon racetrack. What are the concrete utilization plans?
The Minister "The Gwacheon racetrack is owned by the Korea Racing Authority. We are in a position where we must consult on transfer and prepare alternatives. We are holding sufficient consultations with the Korea Racing Authority labor union. We will ensure there is no harm to users. We will prepare alternatives in consultation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs."
The Director General "The decision to include the Counterintelligence Command was made recently. Rather than proceeding with the racetrack and the Counterintelligence Command sites separately, we plan to integrate them—along with surrounding sites—into a public dwelling district. We will review the volume within a range not exceeding 10,000 units, considering the allocation of self-sufficient land and minimizing inconvenience to nearby residents. The details will be finalized at the project planning stage."
— What is the background to excluding development-restricted areas (green belts) from this package?
The Minister "We are reviewing various options. However, rather than fixing a specific time point and supplying all at once, we chose to continuously examine green belt issues and discover new sites and aging office complexes. It would be good to understand the inclusion of parts of Seongnam this time in that context."
— Of the 52,000 units, how much will be allocated to young people and newlyweds, and how are public for-sale and rental volumes planned within that?
The Director General "This announcement declares a supply stance centered on young people and newlyweds. In particular, for prime sites such as station areas and commercial land, we are reviewing ways to allocate as much volume as possible to young people within what is institutionally permissible. However, the ratio of for-sale to rental and the specific distribution of volumes have not yet been finalized. Once the broader direction for housing welfare—including rentals—is organized, we will present specific volumes in line with that framework."
— Do you think this announcement will help stabilize the market?
Deputy Minister Kim "We judge it will clearly help stabilize the market. Of the 60,000 units released this time, about 40,000 are net new volumes not included in existing plans. Adding this to the 1.35 million units in the Sept. 7 package brings the total to about 1.4 million units. We will also support private dwelling supply by improving systems to meet our groundbreaking targets."
— Then when will residents be able to move in and actually feel the supply from this volume?
Director Cho "Under this administration, we have been speaking in terms of the start of construction, and we intend to move that up as much as possible to within 2030. Once construction starts, sales will open within six months, and for rentals, tenant recruitment notices will be issued within a year. The sites included this time are ones held by national institutions, so they do not need to go through the procedures that typically arise in redevelopment or reconstruction. Compared with ordinary supply, this can proceed faster."