FSC Chairman Lee Eok-won: "Close Support for Real Estate Project Financing to Ensure Rapid Housing Supply"

[Financial News] FSC Chairman Lee Eok-won visited an urban development project site and pledged financial support for housing supply. The move is interpreted as signaling that, although ordinary mortgage lending will be tightened to manage household debt, project financing (PF) related to housing supply for actual homebuyers will continue to receive support without disruption. 
Chairman Lee visited the Pungmu Station Area Urban Development Project site in Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi-do, on the 10th to inspect the status of project-financing (PF) funding. He also heard about financial difficulties and requests from representatives of the project developer, contractor, financial sector, and construction industry.
The visit followed up on the Comprehensive Financial Measures for Stabilizing the Real Estate Market announced on August 13. At an on-site meeting, Chairman Lee urged the financial sector to actively provide PF guarantees and funding to promote housing supply. The Gimpo Pungmu Station Area PF project is a residential development with approximately 2,700 households, for which the Korea Housing Finance Corporation (HF) has provided about 600 billion won in PF project guarantees.
Securing stable funding had emerged as a key challenge for the project amid the slowdown in the real estate market and rising construction costs. However, the project has secured funding stably through HF’s PF guarantee and is proceeding normally. Blocks B4, B5, and C5 comprise 660 units, 956 units, and 951 units, respectively, with sales rates of 100%, 100%, and 99%. They are scheduled for completion in sequence. The project site covers approximately 870,000 square meters around 486-2, Saudong, Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi-do, and includes more than 6,522 households, commercial and office facilities, schools, parks, and university land. Chairman Lee said, "The Pungmu Station Area Urban Development Project is a successful example of how PF financial support leads to actual housing supply," adding, "We plan to closely monitor 325 PF project sites in the metropolitan area that are expected to begin construction or be completed in 2027."
Park Cheol-hee, executive managing director of Hoban Construction, explained at the on-site meeting, "Funding conditions improved through HF’s PF guarantees and other measures, allowing us to proceed with the project stably." Jin Gwang-hyun, a director at the Korea Construction Association, also said, "The government’s soft-landing policy for real estate PF has resolved a significant portion of the uncertainty in the PF market," adding, "The construction industry will also work to ensure that viable projects begin construction and are completed as soon as possible." 
Kim, Kyung-Hwan, president of the Korea Housing Finance Corporation, said, "Since the August 13 measures, we have increased our guarantee-supply target from 6 trillion won to 9 trillion won and completed related institutional improvements." Lee Hwan-ju, president of KB Kookmin Bank, stated, "KB Kookmin Bank is actively providing financial support for housing supply, handling PF loans worth approximately 4 trillion won this year alone. To respond to the government’s call for 'reliable funding for housing supply,' which was emphasized at the recent meeting between the financial and construction industries, we plan to provide active financial support, including a substantial expansion of our internal limits for PF-related lending." 
[email protected] Park Moon-soo Reporter