Land minister says Yongsan Park should supply housing; 73,000-unit sites near announcement

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Yun-deok said Thursday that Yongsan Park should be used for housing, calling it "well-located state-owned land where housing supply is needed." He also said negotiations with local governments over the remaining roughly 73,000 units — part of a 100,000-unit new housing site plan announced Thursday — have been completed, and a formal announcement is imminent.

Speaking at a briefing on rapid housing supply measures to stabilize the jeonse and monthly rent market, held at Government Complex Seoul, Kim said the 73,000-unit tranche had already been agreed upon with local governments but that public disclosure was being delayed by administrative procedures such as resident review periods.

On greenbelt releases, Kim signaled further action ahead. "We must preserve the greenbelt, but the areas where we plan to build are grade 3 and 4," he said. "Because we are focusing on areas that are already significantly degraded, we are preparing to push housing supply more actively."

The government announced Thursday that it would supply 100,000 units of housing on newly identified sites. Among those, it disclosed locations in Yeomchang Park in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, and sites in Namyangju and Gwangju in Gyeonggi Province. The remaining 73,000-unit sites are planned to be announced before the end of the year.

"What matters is market confidence," Kim said. "There may be skepticism about whether we will actually follow through on all of this, but in practice a great deal of preparation is already under way, and we believe it will contribute substantially to stabilizing the housing market."

Taken together, the three rounds of supply measures the government has announced to date put planned housing supply at about 1.6 million units. Jang Woo-cheol, director of housing policy, said the Sept. 7 package had set a target of breaking ground on 1.35 million units in the greater Seoul area by 2030, and that adding the Jan. 29 package and Thursday's measures would push total planned supply beyond 1.5 million units.

The following is an edited transcript of the question-and-answer session held Thursday at the briefing on rapid housing supply measures to stabilize the jeonse and monthly rent market.

Q: The jeonse safe-trust program seems likely to curb gap investment. Did the government intend that effect?

A: The safe-trust program was developed through extensive deliberation. Polling showed that landlords see it as a way to earn stable returns, while tenants gain confidence in their lease arrangements — those are the advantages the program is designed to leverage. Our research found that around 20 percent of respondents expressed interest, so it should help stabilize the jeonse market. If it takes hold, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport believes it could also indirectly curb gap investment.

Q: Why were the candidate sites for the remaining 73,000 units of the 100,000-unit new public housing plan not announced today?

A: Discussions with local governments on the 73,000-unit tranche are already complete. Agreements have been reached, but public disclosure is being delayed solely by administrative procedures such as resident review periods.

Q: Do you expect this supply package to stabilize the housing market?

A: By activating various financial and tax support measures and boldly releasing greenbelt land to build housing where it is needed, we believe we have significantly raised the likelihood of market stabilization. President Lee Jae Myung directed us to draw up a concrete action plan — one that wrings out every last drop, like squeezing a dry towel — so that people would think this government was crazy for how much housing it built. We must preserve the greenbelt, but the areas where the government plans to build are grade 3 and 4 — already significantly degraded — so we are preparing to push housing supply more actively.

Q: How does the government plan to resolve local government and resident opposition to the Yongsan, Taereung and Gwacheon sites proposed in the Jan. 29 package? How are consultations with the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the Yongsan International Business District proceeding?

A: We are continuing to consult with the Seoul Metropolitan Government through multiple channels on the Yongsan International Business District site. There have been differences in position, but both sides agree that swift progress is needed, so we are working to narrow the gap and reach a conclusion as soon as possible. For Taereung Country Club, active consultations with the Ministry of National Defense and related ministries have allowed us to move the originally planned 2030 ground-breaking forward to 2029. For the Gwacheon racetrack, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will announce a new relocation site by September. Gwacheon city has raised concerns about traffic, among other issues, but we plan to proactively develop traffic improvement measures and use them to build support.

Q: Why were plans to release Seoul greenbelt land and supply housing on the Yongsan Park site not included in this package?

A: It is difficult to say specifically whether Seoul greenbelt land will be released. The Public Housing Act prohibits public disclosure of a site before its announcement, even after an agreement with a local government has been reached. As for Yongsan Park, given its status as well-located state-owned land, we believe housing supply there is necessary in light of current conditions. However, we cannot proceed without reaching an agreement with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, so we plan to pursue those consultations actively.

Q: What measures will stabilize the jeonse and monthly rent market in the near term?

A: Because the jeonse and monthly rent market is driven by genuine end-user demand, the fundamental answer is to increase supply. In the short term, that means expanding the supply of urban-type residential units and officetels; over the medium to long term, apartment supply must be scaled up. For households facing a sharp rise in housing costs, welfare measures such as monthly rent support and purchase-for-lease programs can provide relief.

Q: There are concerns that non-apartment housing cannot serve as a substitute for middle-income renters living in Seoul apartments.

A: The 1.35 million units the government has committed to breaking ground on in the greater Seoul area by 2030 are mostly apartments. What matters is not raising the target further but actually breaking ground on those 1.35 million units to build credibility in the supply policy. Urban-type residential units also include two- and three-room configurations suitable for households of two or three people, and we believe they can serve as a complementary alternative to apartments.

Q: The government has said it will cut the timeline from candidate-site announcement to ground-breaking from 68 months to 37 months. But resident opposition and other variables arise beyond just administrative procedures. Is a 37-month ground-breaking realistically achievable even accounting for those variables? And with the Wangseok district in Namyangju approaching move-in, is there a risk of oversupply?

A: The 37-month figure is presented as a standard model. There may be some variation when residents mount strong opposition. We plan to actively encourage cooperation by offering various incentives — including compensation arrangements — to minimize opposition. As for urban supply in Namyangju, the Wangseok district is indeed one of the largest among the third-generation new towns, but Namyangju itself is a large area, so the two should not be viewed together — they need to be assessed separately. We also plan to establish a metropolitan transportation improvement plan for that area.