Among public dwelling construction sites in the greater Seoul area, one has cut its project timeline. President Lee Jae-myung directed officials to push ahead quickly with developing public housing sites in the Seoul metropolitan area, saying, "If you drag out the time too much, it is the same as not doing it." The market says it is unusual to actually move a public dwelling project up by several months. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) are accelerating public dwelling supply by introducing measures to shorten project periods, including partitioning site development work.
On the 22nd, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and LH, the "Bucheon Sports Complex Station Area A2BL Public Dwelling Construction Project (integrated public rental)" underway in Ojeong-gu, Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, had its original completion date of Mar. 2029 moved up to Nov. 2028, shortening the project by four months.
According to the notice approving this project plan change, the Bucheon Sports Complex Station Area A2BL project will build six buildings with 550 units of integrated public rental apartments. The original plan was seven buildings and 527 units, but the number of units was increased through a design change. The smallest exclusive area was also expanded from 26 square meters to 31 square meters.
LH did not carry out site development all at once but implemented it in a split manner to shorten the Bucheon Sports Complex Station Area A2BL project period. An LH official said, "With the government calling for faster dwelling supply, we would normally finish site development for the entire area before starting building construction, but we first proceeded with the portions where site work could begin immediately," adding, "As a result, some districts finished site development quickly, which ultimately moved up the overall project timeline."
However, the project cost rose to 239.3 billion won from the previous 167.9 billion won, up 42.5% (71.4 billion won), reflecting factors such as the shortened schedule and design changes. An LH official said, "Construction costs, including labor, have risen significantly compared with when the original plan was set," adding, "Design changes to prevent inter-floor noise also contributed to the higher project cost."
The market viewed LH's shortened timeline for this public dwelling project as unusual. It is generally difficult to move up schedules even in ordinary construction, and in public dwelling projects there have been successive cases of extending timelines. The public dwelling construction project with private participation underway at Hanam Gyosan A-2 Block set its completion for Oct. 2027, a 10-month extension. The Newlywed Hope Town project at Goyang Changneung District A-4 Block also saw its project period extended by four months to May 2028. A construction industry official said, "Extensions are common, but shortening is rare."
LH's multi-pronged push to speed up dwelling supply stems from the government's strong commitment to supply. Early last month, President Lee directed officials to press ahead quickly with developing public housing sites in the greater Seoul area, including the third new towns, saying, "If you drag out the time too much, it is the same as not doing it." On the 19th, Minister Kim Yun-duk of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) visited the Namyangju Wangsuk public dwelling district in Gyeonggi Province and emphasized, "To generate supply effects that anyone can feel, we must conduct thorough schedule management so that groundbreaking, main subscriptions, and move-ins can all proceed quickly."
The market says additional projects that dramatically shorten timelines must emerge for faster dwelling supply to stabilize the real estate market. Seo Jin-hyung, a professor of real estate law and policy at Kwangwoon University, said, "Moving up the schedule is the right direction, but there must be cases that shorten by more than a year to affect the market."
Some also note that safety and quality issues must be considered alongside shorter schedules. Projects without adequate quality and safety management could cause bigger problems after dwelling supply begins.
The government and LH also set a policy to accelerate dwelling supply with these concerns in mind. The Minister emphasized, "If speed outpaces quality, it will be difficult to earn public trust, so please push the project forward while strictly adhering to principles and procedures." An LH official said, "To meet the policy goal of expediting dwelling supply, we are striving to shorten the project period as much as possible," adding, "At the same time, we will pay attention to safety so the work does not become slapdash."