Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said Wednesday the government is working to accelerate the housing supply timeline by compressing every implementation stage so that announced housing supply plans translate directly into actual residences for the public.
"We are also currently reviewing measures to enhance housing stability for the public by supplying move-in-ready homes in the short term, including non-apartment units such as officetels," Koo said at the Emergency Economic Headquarters meeting, held jointly with the Economic and Real Estate Ministers' Meeting at the Government Complex Seoul on Wednesday morning. "We are well aware that swift supply is more important than anything else."
The government plans to break ground on the Taereung Golf Course site, a major project location for housing supply, in 2029 — one year earlier than the originally planned 2030. Approximately 2,900 units to be developed at the Gangseo military site and through the redevelopment of aging government buildings are currently undergoing procedures including exemption from preliminary feasibility studies, with construction expected to begin in 2027 following subsequent procedures.
Koo also said the government will push ahead with 29,000 public pre-sale units planned for the Seoul metropolitan area this year without delay, and will complete the pre-sale of 13,400 of those units in the first half. He pledged to designate supply officers for each site to resolve difficulties and ensure projects proceed smoothly.
The government also unveiled plans to manage finance more rigorously, focusing on mortgage loans, to prevent disruption in the real estate market. "We are pushing more rigorously to insulate the real estate market from finance," Koo said. "We are also thoroughly inspecting and sternly responding to acts that disrupt the real estate market order in cooperation with relevant agencies."
Through the mortgage management target system introduced this year, the government will monitor the pace of loan growth in the financial sector and expand the scope of inspections on the diversion of business loans for unauthorized purposes to include corporations. Previously, inspections focused on individual rental business operators and some large loans, but going forward, the scope will be expanded to corporations and the management range will be widened to include all mortgages and small loans.
Koo also reviewed the response to the Middle East war and discussed the second-half economic growth strategy at the meeting. "Even amid the shock of the Middle East war, our economy is demonstrating Korea's resilience to crisis, with exports, the current account balance, and stock indices renewing all-time highs," Koo said. "The government will closely monitor changes in domestic and external conditions and minimize the difficulties for people's livelihoods caused by the Middle East shock."
At the meeting, participants reviewed supply and demand trends for items essential to public life and industrial sites, including syringes and needles, agricultural fertilizers, asphalt, and ready-mixed concrete admixtures, and discussed measures to stabilize the supply chain.
The government plans to manage the market to prevent hoarding from disrupting the market, limit the supply and sale of urea fertilizers to within the previous year's sales volume, and prioritize the supply of asphalt and ready-mixed concrete admixtures to essential sites in cooperation with the construction industry.
Regarding the second-half economic growth strategy to be announced at the end of June, Koo said, "Geopolitical conflicts such as changes in the trade environment and the Middle East war are intensifying, and the great transition to artificial intelligence and the green economy is rapidly taking place." He stressed, "We will do our utmost to seize opportunities and elevate the economy to the next level through structural reform."
On specific directions, he said, "We will prepare strategies to strengthen economic security and drive the great energy transition. We will also devise fundamental solutions to structural problems and prepare tasks to achieve a rebound in the potential growth rate and resolve polarization."
