Land Minister Hong Ji-sun: "We Will Focus Policy Efforts on Housing Stability"

[Financial News] MOLIT Minister Hong Ji-sun said on the 23rd, "Above all, I will focus our policy efforts on housing stability, which is most closely tied to people's lives."
At his inauguration ceremony at Government Complex Sejong that day, Minister Hong said, "Housing supply must not remain limited to plans and numbers. I will see through to the end to ensure that the Third New Towns and urban housing projects move faster and lead to actual construction starts and move-ins," expressing his determination.
Specifically, MOLIT plans to launch a multilayered consultative body with local governments in the Seoul metropolitan area and establish integrated reviews and a fast-track permitting process.
He also emphasized the need to respond to instability in the rental market and support vulnerable groups. Minister Hong said, "We will expand private long-term rentals to create a stable backstop for the market, enabling us to respond to fluctuations in the housing market and instability in the jeonse market."
He added, "We will promote universal public rental housing so that more people without homes, including young people and newlyweds, can live with peace of mind in quality homes in good locations, such as areas near transit stations, at affordable rents."
He also expressed his commitment to balanced national development. Minister Hong said, "We will create new growth hubs that combine jobs and housing. We will develop a new regional growth model through corporate-led high-tech cities and move ahead swiftly with key balanced-development initiatives, including the second relocation of public institutions and projects in Sejong City and Saemangeum."
Based on his experience as second vice minister over the past eight months, Minister Hong also plans to continue expanding transport networks. He stated, "Roads, railways, airports and public transportation are more than simply links between regions; they form the foundation that connects people with jobs and industries with opportunities. We will expand the transport networks each region needs and build a country where everyone, including people with mobility difficulties, can travel conveniently anywhere."
MOLIT also plans to foster leadership in future mobility, including autonomous driving, Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and mobile robots, as well as the construction industry enhanced by artificial intelligence and advanced technologies, as new growth industries.
He also pledged to strengthen safety, saying, "We will eradicate defective construction and illegal subcontracting at construction sites and establish a more thorough safety system that identifies risks in roads, railways and aviation in advance to prevent accidents."
Minister Hong also told MOLIT officials, "It is not enough for the central government simply to create good policies. Local governments and the private sector must be able to implement them in practice, and policies are only complete when people can feel the changes." He continued, "Please see and hear directly and narrow the gap between policy and reality."
[email protected] Choi Ga-young Reporter