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Can the Jan. 29 housing plan calm market jitters without easing redevelopment rules?

Published: 30 Jan. 2026, 00:00

Kim Yoon-duk, the minister of land, infrastructure and transport, second from left, gives a briefing on measures to expand and expedite urban housing supply at the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno District on Jan. 29. [NEWS1]

The government has unveiled a long-delayed housing supply package. The Lee Jae Myung administration’s fourth real estate policy — the supply plan — was announced on Thursday and calls for the phased construction of 60,000 homes starting next year in the Seoul metropolitan area, including 32,000 units in Seoul and 28,000 in Gyeonggi. The total supply is roughly double that of Pangyo New Town, which has about 29,000 units.

The government deserves credit for mobilizing all available land and presenting a concrete timeline based on projects that can realistically break ground. Locating housing near business districts to meet demand for shorter commutes and focusing on sites with extensive public land — which allows for more efficient project implementation — are also laudable actions. Still, concerns have been raised about consequences, including traffic congestion in areas where planned supply has increased beyond initial levels, such as 10,000 units in the Yongsan International Business District and 2,500 units on the Yongsan Camp Kim site.

Whether the policy can ease housing price anxiety remains uncertain. The government has signaled its commitment to boosting supply, but the market is not yet convinced the plan will proceed as expected. Ultimately, how effectively the government demonstrates its ability to implement policy in cooperation with local governments will be key to its failure or success. If the government is unable to execute the plan well, trust in the government will erode, and the housing market will remain unstable.

Another concern is the apparent lack of coordination between the central government and the Seoul Metropolitan Government. City officials say they proposed measures to ease bottlenecks in private-sector redevelopment projects, but these were not reflected in the government’s plan. Seoul warned that one-sided measures that exclude on-the-ground conditions and residents’ opinions would amount to empty promises or unsatisfactory results and repeat the failures of the former Moon Jae-in administration. Discord between central and local governments risks derailing the promised supply. More communication is needed.

Most projects under the plan are scheduled to break ground after 2028, which demands an immediate supply of units. As a result, the government must also pursue deregulation of urban redevelopment and reconstruction projects, which account for more than 80 percent of housing supply in city centers. This also requires follow-up measures developed through close coordination with Seoul.

Last year, the government pledged to start construction on 1.35 million homes in the metropolitan area by 2030. However, only four of the 23 legislative tasks required have been completed. Under such conditions, government announcements carry little weight. Past Democratic Party administrations failed badly by focusing solely on suppressing demand. If the Lee administration truly aspires to pragmatism, it must avoid repeating those mistakes.

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.