The first public forum the government arranged ahead of drawing up real estate measures drew criticism for playing out like a "venue for civil complaints" that poured out demands to ease regulations. With most speakers limited to one or two minutes, some said there was a lack of in-depth policy discussion on the pace and methods of supplying dwellings and on young people's housing costs.
Experts and representatives from the dwellings industry and civil society attended the "listening forum on plans to expand dwellings supply for stable housing for the public," hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, at Jeongdong 1928 Art Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 14th. Public land sale methods, revitalizing private rentals, easing the housing burden for young people, and improving urban regulations were discussed, but with stakeholders in development and redevelopment repeatedly raising pending issues and calls for deregulation, some said the debate fell short.
Choi Eun-young, head of the Korea Urban Research Institute, said, "It is very regrettable. It feels like a venue for civil complaints." Choi said, "As the government puts the emphasis on rapid supply of dwellings, we are even hearing demands to apply the same floor area ratio to private and public development," adding, "The problem is not a lack of homes, but that they are too expensive." She went on, "Given there is a large-scale supply base such as the third new towns, I hope policy will not be pushed ahead just to chase supply."
Lee Hu-bin, a Kangwon National University professor, also said, "You cannot gulp down salt water just because you are thirsty," adding, "What matters is not how fast we supply but how we supply, and discussion on that is lacking."
Lee argued that the ratio of for-sale dwellings to rental dwellings in public sites such as the third new towns should be reviewed. Publicly sold dwellings, supplied below market prices, could generate excessive gains during resale, he said. He proposed applying 80% of market price at the time of sale and capping the resale price at 80% of market price as well.
There were also calls to expand support for dwellings suppliers struggling with funding due to rising construction costs and interest rates. Kim Yong-jin, head of REITs Division 1 at Korea Land Trust, said, "There are roughly 20,000 households currently waiting for fund investment screening," and said public institutions such as the Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) should clear screening backlogs so that the supply of private rental dwellings is not delayed.
Cho Kang-tae, CEO of MGRV, proposed that to diversify methods of supplying dwellings, the corporate private rental market should be nurtured.
There were also arguments that the way land and space in city centers are used should change. Park Cheon-gyu, head of the Housing and Real Estate Research Division at the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRIHS), said that to promote balanced regional development and revitalize urban economies, Korea should actively use space innovation zones that drastically ease land-use regulations, the so-called "Korean-style white zones."
Critics also said youth housing policies do not adequately reflect the actual incomes and living patterns of young people, blocking access to public rental dwellings.
Public institutions under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) said they would accelerate dwellings supply and expand financial support. Lee Seong-hun, president of the Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH), said, "We will speed up supply and focus on urban supply so that the difficulties of young people can be eased."
Choi In-ho, president of HUG, said a special guarantee was newly established to support financing for non-apartment projects. He said, "We plan to revise loan programs related to pre-sales at the board meeting at the end of July," adding, "We are preparing and executing measures to expand financial support."
Lee Heon-uk, president of the Korea Real Estate Board (REB), stressed that the dwellings issue should be viewed not only in terms of price but also from the perspective of the national spatial structure. He said, "Of the greater Seoul area's population, 36% is concentrated in Seoul, and Seoul is an extremely dense city by global standards," adding, "Only when there are more livable regions will young people be able to find homes more easily."
Kim Yun-duk, Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), said, "It has been a year since I became Minister, and the most difficult issue is dwellings," adding, "We will reflect today's views well in policy." He went on, "We will compile the results of follow-up forums and report directly to the president, and after a forum presided over by the president, the government will decide its final position."