“Housing supply should be measured by move-ins, not groundbreaking ... Consider selling land in its raw state and other measures to speed things up” [Questions over the effectiveness of the “build-at-all-costs” policy]

President Lee Jae-myung visited Incheon’s Gyeyang district ahead of the first move-ins in the Third New Towns, scheduled for this December, and stressed that “the benchmark for housing supply should be when residents actually move in.” He urged the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) to begin construction on about 90% of the public housing planned for the Third New Towns by 2030.
At a housing supply meeting held at the Incheon Gyeyang public housing district on the 20th, President Lee said, “Typically, the government uses groundbreaking as the benchmark for housing supply, but I believe the benchmark should be when residents actually move in, so that people can experience it for themselves.” He added, “If it looks as though supply policies are not being properly implemented, public trust in real estate policy overall is bound to fall.”
Regarding the groundbreaking target, he said, “I ask you to give it everything you have so that construction can begin by 2030 on most of the public housing planned for the Third New Towns—about 90%—in line with the target we announced last August,” adding, “We have to follow through on what we said.”
He also called for every procedure to be reconsidered from the ground up, breaking away from existing practices. President Lee said, “Please do your utmost to bring forward the actual groundbreaking plans by even a single day,” and urged officials to speed up every stage, including planning and land compensation, and revise systems and regulations that are obstacles.
President Lee stressed, “For reasons we cannot explain, approvals and groundbreaking for new housing nevertheless fell by nearly half between 2022 and last year,” adding, “We need to bring forward new supply as much as possible to close that gap.” He also instructed officials to fundamentally review the sale of land in its raw state—a way of supplying land before site development is complete—and to consider dramatically increasing financial incentives to speed up supply.
At a press briefing with reporters at Chunchugwan the previous day, he cited the three-to-four-year lag in housing supply and forecast that “supply will return to normal after 2028.”
At the 45th Cabinet meeting, held that morning at the main building of Cheong Wa Dae, he also said, “Do not be bound by existing practices and procedures. Shorten as much as possible the time required from site development through various approvals and groundbreaking, and mount an all-out drive to accelerate supply.” He also called for high-quality public rental housing for young people and the middle class to be supplied quickly through active fiscal management.
He also called for preparations to be made for infrastructure in Incheon’s Gyeyang district. President Lee said, “Please ensure that major infrastructure, including transportation, education and district heating, is fully prepared in time for residents to move in, so they will not face any inconvenience.”
[email protected] Seong Seok-woo Reporter