Lee government revives regular housing supply briefings — a first for the prime minister's office

The government has revived regular housing supply briefings, to be held twice a month on an alternating basis between the Office for Government Policy Coordination and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. It marks the first time in any administration that the prime minister's office has taken a leading role in such briefings.

According to government sources, the administration announced Friday that it would conduct periodic reviews to track whether the Aug. 13 housing supply measures announced last year are translating into actual ground-breakings, pre-sales and move-ins — and would make future schedules public. Alongside the twice-monthly briefings, a "digital housing supply dashboard" is also planned, allowing the public to check supply progress, pre-sale schedules and rental timelines in one place.

Kim Yong-su, second deputy minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, said the government would "build public trust in housing supply by explaining in detail, through regular briefings, the implementation status of housing supply measures and the progress at each stage — including permits, ground-breakings, pre-sales and move-ins."

The revival of regular housing supply briefings comes roughly five years after the Moon Jae-in administration, under which the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held weekly "housing supply briefings" to announce government housing policy.

Those briefings began March 31, 2021, covering weekly updates on public redevelopment projects and other housing supply matters. They drew criticism, however, for largely rehashing previously announced projects or presenting early-stage developments — such as resident approval rates and candidate site selections — as concrete supply achievements.

The briefings also drew criticism for repeating announcements already made jointly by economic ministries. Critics called them "recycled" disclosures, and the series was discontinued after just 21 sessions — less than seven months after it began, ending Oct. 14 of that year.

With the prime minister's office now at the helm of the revived biweekly briefings, there are concerns both inside and outside the government about whether fresh content can be delivered each time. Even so, the move is seen as a decisive response to mounting public anxiety over home prices — Seoul apartment prices have risen for 88 consecutive weeks.

President Lee Jae Myung wrote on his SNS account Monday that he had instructed the newly appointed minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korea Land and Housing Corporation "to throw everything into early, large-scale housing supply as if the nation's fate depended on it."

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook also emphasized the importance of transparency when she chaired the third cross-ministry rapid housing supply review meeting at Government Complex Seoul on Sept. 30. "The most important thing is to raise predictability around housing supply by telling people specifically how far along each project is and what will change and when," she said.

Meanwhile, despite the briefing revival, analysts say the government's housing supply has so far fallen short of expectations. The government has announced plans to break ground on 1.5 million units over five years — the most ambitious target of any administration. This year's goal is 268,000 units, including 62,000 in the public sector, but as of the second week of this month, only about 99,000 units had broken ground — roughly 37 percent of the annual target.

The government projected that up to 235,000 units — about 88 percent of the annual target — would break ground by year's end. First Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim I-tak said the ministry would "closely monitor the progress of key projects, including public housing, newly built purchase units and private redevelopment, and make every effort to ensure that the planned volume translates into actual ground-breakings as much as possible in the time remaining."