A forum on expanding housing supply to improve housing stability is hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in Seoul on July 14.THE MINISTRY OF LAND, INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORT
Criticism of Korea's current housing policy, or a lack of one, emerged on the opening day of a series of government forums on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held the first forum ahead of a nationwide housing policy discussion chaired by President Lee Jae Myung on July 23. Instead of presenting specific policy proposals, the ministry sought public input, resulting in a discussion that one expert likened to "a venue for civic complaints."
The forum, chaired by Land Minister Kim Yun-duk, focused on measures to expand the housing supply.
Nine expert panelists and members of the public, including industry representatives and university students, discussed seven topics, including nonapartment housing such as multifamily homes or studio units, urban redevelopment projects, public rental housing, housing stability for young people and newly married couples and the regulatory zone system that imposes certain restrictions on transactions or use.
As the discussion covered such a wide range of issues, each expert was given only two to three minutes to speak. Rather than focusing on ways to increase housing supply, many participants instead called for regulatory changes affecting their respective industries.
Among the proposals were easing the loan-to-value ratio, revamping regulations for registered rental housing operators, promoting corporate rental housing, improving relocation loans for redevelopment projects and relaxing restrictions on the transfer of redevelopment association membership.
Choi Eun-young, head of the Korea Center for City and Environment Research, openly criticized how the discussion was carried out.
A real estate agency in Seoul on July 14NEWS1
"[Participants are] making unreasonable demands, such as calling for the same floor area ratio for private and public development projects," Choi said, referring to a regulation limiting maximum floor space relative to plot size. "It's disappointing because this feels more like a venue for civil complaints."
"I'm also not sure how representative the people speaking here are of the public," she added.
Choi also criticized the government for failing to present its own policy proposals.
"It has been more than a year since the Lee Jae Myung administration took office, yet the government still has no proposal of its own and is instead asking the public what it should do," Choi said. "The government's position should have been presented first."
She also took issue with a recent remark by presidential chief of staff for policy Kim Yong-beom.
"It was inappropriate for Kim to say, 'Just supply more housing,'" Choi said. "The issue is not how quickly homes are supplied but what kind of housing is supplied."
Other participants called for a review of regulatory zones.
Apartment complexes are seen across Seoul from Mount Namsan in central Seoul.NEWS1
Kim Hyo-sun, a senior real estate specialist at KB Kookmin Bank, pointed out that the number of land transaction permit zones in the Seoul metropolitan area has increased to 40 under the current administration. The requirement that buyers obtain approval from local authorities before purchasing land has seen wider implementation in a bid to curb speculative real estate investment.
"When the government imposes regulations as a package, it creates unintended side effects," the Kookmin specialist said. "Because homeowners cannot easily sell properties without first asking tenants to move out, the supply of jeonse [lump-sum deposit] rentals also declines."
Kim Deok-rye, a senior research fellow at the Korea Housing Institute, said regulatory zones have created more spillover effects than meaningful policy results.
"I suggest either a comprehensive review of the system with a focus on genuine homebuyers without homes or introducing a new framework altogether," she said.
The forum also drew limited public interest. Throughout the day, the combined number of concurrent viewers on the ministry's official YouTube channel and KTV, the government's official channel, remained between 500 and 700.
The government plans to continue gathering public opinions through a housing finance forum hosted by the Financial Services Commission on Wednesday, followed by a real estate tax forum hosted by the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Thursday.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
