Land minister, Seoul mayor talk about building homes

Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon, left, and Land Minister Noh Hyeong-ouk meet for the first time at the government complex in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss cooperation in residential housing supplies. [YONHAP]

The Land Ministry and Seoul city government agreed to cooperate in expanding the supply of residential real estate in the nation’s capital, including resolving controversy over use of the former U.S. base in Yongsan.

The goal is to add an average of 107,000 residential units annually by 2030.

That’s 46.5 percent more than the average 73,000 units added in the past 10 years.

If the housing supplies in Seoul go as planned, they will contribute to an increase in the number of residential units added in the greater Seoul area including Gyeonggi and Incheon. The average number of residential units added in the area will increase 34.2 percent to 314,000 units a year compared to 234,000 in the last 10 years.

The agreement was made during a meeting between Land Minister Noh Hyeong-ouk and Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon on Wednesday.

The minister and mayor agreed on cutting red tape including shortening the process of allowing redevelopment of neighborhoods.

In the case of redevelopment of apartment buildings or complexes, an association of apartment owners must be formed and perform safety checks. This process will be streamlined to allow the Seoul government to okay redevelopment even before an association is formed.

The two also agreed to cooperate on use of public lands, especially Camp Kim, which is part of the U.S. Yongsan millitary base.

Last year, the Land Ministry announced it would build 3,100 public housing units on the former U.S. base. However, the Yongsan District Office has its own plan to create a commercial district.

It was the first meeting of Noh and Oh. Both started their jobs this year.

The housing supply agreement is part of the ministry’s 3080+ housing supply plan announced in February, the 25th set of measures announced by the Moon Jae-in government to tackle high real estate prices.

The plan is to add 830,000 housing units by 2025, of which 74 percent or 616,000 units will be in the greater Seoul area.

Seoul alone is to get 320,000 units.

“Many experts project the 3080+ plan if executed as planned will help lower housing prices in the mid-to-long term amid the possibility of U.S.-led hike in interest rates,” Land Minister Noh said.

Mayor Oh said the final goal of the Seoul city government’s housing policy is to first and foremost the residential stability of Seoulites.

“If regulatory improvement in stabilizing the market is achieved through the policy cooperation with the Land Ministry, it will be the foundation to speeding up the housing supply projects," Oh said.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]