PM Han pledges to reflect diverse housing models in policy

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook said the government will review ways to incorporate diverse housing models — including public rental housing and social housing — into national policy.

Han held an "open brunch" meeting Sunday with five experts in public rental and social housing at the prime minister's official residence in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, to discuss ways to improve the country's housing supply system, according to the Prime Minister's Office.

"We need to think carefully about diverse forms of housing to respond to rising housing costs and changing living environments," Han said. "I will listen to opinions on various housing models, including public rental housing and social housing, and seek ways to reflect them in policy."

The experts called for an expansion and restructuring of the current public rental housing policy, which has focused primarily on low-income households, and urged greater diversity in supply methods.

Kim Seon-ju, a professor at Kyonggi University, proposed establishing a dedicated body to conduct a comprehensive review of public rental housing policy and increasing supply through the use of idle public land.

Kang Mi-na, a senior research fellow at the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, said the current policy should evolve beyond its low-income focus to address the housing needs of a broader range of households.

Nam Won-seok, a senior research fellow at the Seoul Institute, proposed considering not only public rental housing but also publicly supported private rentals and social housing. He also argued that the regulatory framework should be revised so that private rental units whose mandatory lease periods have expired can continue to operate as rental housing with a public character, rather than being converted to individual pre-sales.

Experts also called for strengthening the supply base for social housing. Moon Young-rok, chief executive of the Housing Policy Research Institute, proposed creating a dedicated organization to support the supply and operation of social housing and expanding the participation of nonprofit entities.

Lee Young-eun, a senior research fellow at the Land and Housing Research Institute, said that specially designated purchase-rental housing involving social economy organizations should be subject to stronger oversight while also being backed by a stable fiscal support framework.

Closing the meeting, Han said she would review housing policies across government ministries and link housing, care and welfare programs. "I will make sure that tangible results in housing stability are delivered in ways that people can actually feel," she said.

The government has recently been examining a series of measures to expand housing supply and diversify available housing types. Han visited a publicly supported private rental housing complex in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province on Tuesday — a project involving social economy organizations — to inspect its operations.