[Reporter’s Notebook] Housing Policy Out of Sync Between the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Seoul Metropolitan Government

Now that I am in my thirties, almost all of my friends share the same wish: to own a home in Seoul. Whenever there is a chance to make a wish — while hiking, out drinking, or traveling — someone inevitably says, "Let this be the year we buy a home." The object of those wishes differs depending on each person’s religion, faith, or past experience of answered prayers. Whether it is God, Buddha, a mountain spirit, or one’s ancestors, the plea is the same: please let me own a home.
But once that wish turns into a concrete goal, and people start looking for someone in the real world who might actually solve the problem, things become murkier. Some friends say they are not sure whether they should appeal to the president, who delivers messages almost every day, or to the mayor of Seoul, the city where they want to live. Everyone promises to help people become homeowners, yet amid this strange discord, my friends feel that owning a home is slipping farther and farther away.
The mismatch between the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Government of the Republic of Korea is especially frustrating because, on paper, they claim to be heading in the same direction. The Yongsan International Business District (YIBD), seen as a flagship project that will inject new housing into central Seoul, has become a battleground over whether it will provide 6,000 units or 10,000 units. The central government’s stance of supplying more, and the city’s stance of supplying faster, both sound like positions citizens would welcome. Yet no concrete supply plan has taken shape, and the uncertainty only continues to grow.
The stalled redevelopment of Sewoon District 4, which has been halted in the name of creating "a Seoul that boasts World Heritage sites," also includes the planned supply of about 800 officetel units. They are not apartments, but compared with the recent sharp drop in new officetel move-ins, this project alone could release more than half of the annual volume at once. According to Real Estate R114, the number of officetel units scheduled for occupancy in Seoul plunged from 14,113 in 2013 to 5,800 last year, and is estimated at 3,797 units this year and just 1,417 units next year.
An official at the Seoul Metropolitan Government explained, "In practice, if the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport blocks a project, it is unlikely that the Seoul Metropolitan Government will be able to push ahead with its own real estate policies."
This year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government is launching a new integrated housing policy brand for young people under the name "The Dream House Plus." In addition to 49,000 units of youth housing already planned by 2030, the city intends to secure another 25,000 units by using idle sites in the urban core, for a total supply of 74,000 units. The Government of the Republic of Korea has also announced that it will pursue follow-up measures for the swift supply of housing to stabilize the real estate market. In other words, the very actors who are supposed to grant these wishes are once again pledging to work toward the same goal.
Those making these wishes can only hope that the parties in charge will reach an amicable agreement and actually make them come true. If they have identified "chronic undersupply" as the root cause, then both the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Government of the Republic of Korea should stop arguing over the prescription and hurry to begin the treatment.
chlee1@fnnews.com Reporter