LH President Lee Seong-hun: “Large-scale hiring needed to expand housing supply; will ask government”

[Financial News] Lee Seong-hun, president of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), said he was asking the government to approve a large-scale increase in staffing to expand housing supply.
Lee made the remarks on the 12th while appearing at a parliamentary audit by the National Assembly’s Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee of LH and other agencies under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
“The volume of work has increased, and the types of projects have become very complex,” Lee explained. “We are in a situation where we need to recruit staff on a large scale.” He continued, “We are currently discussing plans to expand staffing with government ministries, including the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. We are asking the government to approve an active expansion of staffing and pressing for it to be reflected as soon as possible,” he added.
He also stressed that LH needs government support to address the deterioration of its financial position.
“Over the past few years, prices have risen considerably, and construction costs have risen even more, by nearly 50%,” Lee explained. “With apartment construction costs rising, development projects are generating little surplus.”
He said, “Debt is increasing rapidly, while the pace of recovery is slow. We are requesting financial support from the government and working with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to ensure the relevant assistance is reflected by the budget authorities.”
Lee also identified improving employee pay as an urgent priority.
“As LH went through its integration process and various reform measures over the years, employee pay fell to the lowest level,” Lee said. “If employee morale falls, we cannot supply housing either.”
He stressed that boosting employee morale is essential both to pursue reforms and to expand housing supply, adding, “I will work to resolve the pay issue.”

[email protected] Jung Kyung-soo Reporter