The government's "nonresidential remodeling" project, reintroduced for the first time in four years to quickly increase housing space in downtown areas of the Seoul metropolitan region, has produced not a single result even four months later.
According to materials submitted by People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jong-yang of the Land Infrastructure and Transport Committee to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) on the 23rd, the number of nonresidential remodeling cases that went through a change-of-use process from 2023 to the end of July—measured by building permit or contract execution—was tallied at exactly 0.
Nonresidential remodeling is a renewal method in which the public sector purchases unused vacant retail spaces, offices, lodging facilities, and neighborhood living facilities in city centers and converts them into housing such as officetels or dormitories for supply. After securing about 1,280 units over two years starting in 2020, it was halted and then resumed in April with the aim of swiftly addressing the supply and demand of dwellings in urban areas.
At the time, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and LH designated high-demand areas such as station districts in Seoul and Gyeonggi as targets and emphasized that they would speed things up by simultaneously pursuing "direct purchases," in which LH buys directly from building owners, and "purchase agreements," in which it acquires buildings remodeled by the private sector afterward.
However, as of the end of July, neither channel had produced an actual contract or permit. LH's direct purchases, for which recruitment began in April, remain in the initial stage of on-site due diligence and confirming the feasibility of changing use for the submitted candidates. The private-sector purchase agreements also began accepting applications only on July 21—about two months later than planned—and will be open until Sept. 9.
Kim Jong-yang said, "The government called for a speed race in the supply of dwellings, but the answer from the field was zero results," adding that the project must pick up pace to meet its target within the year.