Land minister pushes 'supply at all costs' drive, urges public agencies and industry to meet housing targets

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which has been pressing the urgency of accelerating housing supply — a push widely described as "just supply, no excuses" — held a roundtable Tuesday afternoon chaired by Minister Kim Yun-deok with related public institutions and industry groups, urging all parties to take an active role in expanding supply.

Attendees included Greater Seoul-area housing supply agencies — Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH), Gyeonggi Housing and Urban Development Corporation (GH) and Incheon Urban Corporation (iH) — as well as housing finance bodies Korea Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) and Korea Housing Finance Corporation (HF), alongside the Korea Housing Association, Korea Housing Builders Association, Korea Developer Association and major industry players.

At the meeting, the ministry and public institutions agreed that the public sector bears a heavy responsibility under the three rounds of housing supply measures — including the Aug. 13 rapid housing supply plan — and that the housing supply targets promised to the public must be met without wavering under any circumstances.

Minister Kim called on public institutions to draw up fundamental response plans covering financing, organizational structure and staffing so they can throw their full weight behind housing supply on the front lines. He said the government would actively review any requests raised during project implementation and provide comprehensive support.

Kim also urged the private sector, which plays a critical role in housing supply, to participate actively, saying the government plans to offer wide-ranging support — including improvements to financial, tax and urban-architectural regulations, as well as incentives for early ground-breaking.

The construction industry welcomed the improvements reflected in the Aug. 13 measures, saying they would be a significant boost to private housing supply, and called for swift follow-through on existing housing supply legislation — including the Sept. 7 measures — so that the effects could be felt on the ground.

"To quickly deliver supply results that people can feel, I ask that you break boldly from old ways of doing business and approach this supply drive with a level of resolve and execution that is categorically different from the past," Kim said. "We will push forward with follow-up measures on the supply package without delay so that this round of measures carries real force and credibility."

Meanwhile, President Lee Jae-myung, after receiving a briefing from the ministry on the rapid housing supply plan and follow-up action schedule, made his "supply at all costs" push explicit by instructing Prime Minister Han Seong-suk to "meet with construction companies, listen to their needs, explore solutions and carefully attend to the necessary measures."