Land Minister Hong Ji-seon Visits Bucheon Daejang as First Field Stop, Putting Housing-Supply Execution to the Test

[Financial News] Hong Ji-seon, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, began inspecting housing-supply sites on his first day in office. By choosing the Bucheon Daejang Public Housing District, one of the third-generation new towns bordering southwestern Seoul, as his first field visit, he underscored the importance of implementing housing-supply measures in the capital region. His key task is expected to be turning planned housing volumes into actual groundbreaking and occupancy while stabilizing the home sales and rental markets.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 22nd, Hong officially began work that morning by attending a Cabinet meeting. After receiving briefings on major issues, including emergency transport measures and housing-supply policies, he was scheduled to visit the Bucheon Daejang Public Housing District in Gyeonggi Province that afternoon. His official inauguration ceremony will be held on the 23rd at Government Complex Sejong.
The immediate priority is to improve the execution of housing-supply plans that have already been announced. In last year's Sept. 7 housing-supply expansion plan, the government set a target of breaking ground on 1.35 million homes in the capital region between 2026 and 2030. It added a plan this year to use idle urban land under the Jan. 29 measures, and in last month's Aug. 13 measures, it decided to add 230,000 homes or more in the capital region, including 100,000 homes in new housing sites.
The key is speed. The government has shifted its supply target from permits to groundbreaking.
Under the Aug. 13 measures, the government established a project model that allows construction to begin within as little as 37 months after a public housing site is announced. It also decided to concentrate tax and financial support on projects that break ground early. Among urban public housing projects, approximately 1,300 homes, including those at a military site in Gangseo, will begin construction first in 2027.
Reaching an agreement with the Seoul Metropolitan Government is another hurdle. The central government and the Seoul Metropolitan Government have previously differed over the use of Yongsan Park. Former Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Yun-duk and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon met twice last month to discuss housing-supply measures, but failed to find common ground on using the main body of Yongsan Park for housing.
At his confirmation hearing, Hong made clear that turning the land returned from the Yongsan U.S. military base into a park is the basic principle. However, he said the government could consider using some areas, including peripheral sections, to provide housing for young people and future generations, provided there is public consensus and agreement with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, while preserving the park's core areas. He drew a line at using the Children's Garden, which has already been developed as a park, for housing supply.
The use of the area around the Tancheon Water Treatment Center, which the Seoul Metropolitan Government proposed as one of the alternative housing sites, is also subject to follow-up discussions. To secure additional housing sites in Seoul, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Seoul Metropolitan Government must coordinate the feasibility and supply scale of the candidate sites each has proposed.
The second relocation of public institutions is another pending issue. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to begin relocating leading institutions in 2027, requiring it to coordinate competition among local governments to attract them. With multiple issues—managing the housing-supply schedule, consulting with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and stabilizing the rental market—closely intertwined, Hong's ability to coordinate policy has been put to the test from the start of his tenure. 
[email protected] Jung Kyung-soo Reporter