Seoul lawmakers call for surplus tax revenue to fund youth housing supply

Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers from Seoul, closely attuned to public sentiment on real estate in the capital, proposed channeling surplus tax revenue into solving the youth housing shortage — while standing firm in their opposition to easing loan regulations.

The Democratic Party's Seoul chapter held a forum at the National Assembly on Thursday with young Seoul city council members affiliated with the party to discuss ways to ease the housing supply crunch in the capital.

Secretary-General Han Jeong-ae said at the forum that revenue gains — driven in part by the semiconductor boom — should be directed toward housing supply. "Starting next year, a favorable tax revenue situation could persist for several years," she said. "We will work to turn this unprecedented windfall into measures that go beyond bold action on housing supply."

Rep. Oh Gi-hyeong also proposed committing roughly 20 trillion won of tax revenue to youth housing supply. "Let's go big on public-led housing supply, tax support and loan interest subsidies," he said.

Rep. Kim Dong-a, who has consistently championed youth issues within the party, said many young people live affordably in redevelopment zones. "When redevelopment proceeds and apartment complexes go up, young people living alone in studio units get pushed to the outskirts," she said. "Instead of supplying 60 or 80 units at a time, we need to pour in significant funding and build youth housing towns at key locations across the city."

Criticism of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's housing supply policy also surfaced at the forum. Rep. Kim Nam-geun said the youth housing problem in Seoul was serious, yet the mayor only talked about redevelopment and reconstruction. "Can that actually deliver housing for young people?" he said.

Kim stood firm, however, against calls from some quarters of the market to ease loan regulations. "Loosening lending could push up jeonse prices and home prices, becoming a driver of price increases," he said, adding that "equity-accumulation housing" should be used to address that risk.

At the forum, lawmakers agreed to accelerate small-scale development at the district level as a key measure to address youth housing. Kim Young-bae, chairman of the Democratic Party's Seoul chapter, said the guiding principle for solving the youth housing problem was to supply housing at affordable prices as quickly as possible. "We have decided to convene a council with the 17 Democratic Party district mayors to discuss and actively encourage small-scale housing development that can be carried out at the individual district level," he said.

Kim particularly noted that the Yongsan (Park) site — state-owned land — was "the most reliable core supply tool, one where the government can adjust the volume the moment it breaks ground," making it well suited for public housing for young people and newlyweds.

"The intention is absolutely not to damage the green space itself," he added, explaining that the proposal was to consider supply on portions that have already lost their green function — such as officers' quarters, military apartment complexes and the former Defense Acquisition Program Administration site — as well as on returned US military base land in transit-oriented areas.