The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced plans to supply 74,000 youth housing units, including shared housing, by 2030 to address housing challenges facing young residents.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon unveiled the "Youth Housing Stability Measures" at the "Youth Home & Job Fair" held at Seoul Gallery on Thursday. "The key to solving youth housing problems is pursuing both sufficient housing supply and policies to ease housing cost burdens," Oh said. "Seoul will mobilize all policy capabilities to create a city where young people don't give up their dreams because of housing."
The city will add 25,000 units to the 49,000 youth housing units already under development, bringing the total to 74,000 by 2030. Additionally, 600 units of "Baro Naejip" (Immediate Homeownership), a Seoul-style public housing model for cash-strapped young buyers, will be supplied by 2030. The program allows young people to acquire ownership immediately upon paying a down payment, with the balance paid through long-term installments of 20 years or more without requiring loans.
To stabilize housing near universities, the city will introduce "Seoul-style Saessak Studios" for incoming college students and supply 16,000 units of "Youth Shared Housing" for young people relocating to Seoul by 2030. Specialized housing for both students and young professionals will include Didimddol Housing (2,000 units), Youth Growth Housing (600 units), and Youth Specialized Complexes (1,000 units).
To revitalize the stagnant private rental market, the city will use its Housing Promotion Fund to provide financing to builders of youth-preferred housing at fixed interest rates as low as 2.4% with maturities of up to 14 years. This initiative aims to supply 5,000 private rental units by 2030.
A "three-tier support package" will also be implemented to reduce rent and deposit burdens. The "Youth Companion Landlord Program" will be piloted in 96 neighborhoods to stabilize rents near universities. Landlords who maintain previous rental prices during lease renewals will receive up to 200,000 won in brokerage fees and up to 1 million won in repair costs to encourage voluntary rent stabilization.
Youth rent support eligibility will expand to include single-parent families, jeonse fraud victims, childless newlywed couples, and residents of Youth Safety Housing. The income threshold for the rental deposit interest support program, which covers up to 3% interest on deposits up to 300 million won and monthly rent up to 900,000 won, will be raised from 40 million won to 50 million won annually.
To prevent jeonse fraud, the city will expand its AI-powered "Jeonse Fraud Risk Analysis Report" service from 1,000 to 3,000 reports annually. Support for jeonse deposit return guarantee premiums, covering up to 400,000 won, will also expand from 13,000 to 20,000 beneficiaries this year.
"Nearly 1,000 young people pre-registered for this event," Oh said. "Seoul will thoroughly examine every corner to become a strong safety net for our youth."