The Korea Herald

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Korea to provide 1 million homes for young people, underprivileged

By Yonhap

Published : Nov. 29, 2017 - 11:32

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The Korean government will provide 1 million homes as part of its "housing welfare" road map for young people, newlyweds, the elderly and the underprivileged, the infrastructure ministry said Wednesday.

The Moon Jae-in government, which seeks a paradigm shift from a provider-oriented housing market to one that focuses on the needs of homebuyers, announced the housing road map to give customized support for people in different stages of life, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

In the five-year housing welfare package from 2018-2022, the government plans to provide 300,000 rental homes for young people aged between 19-39 who do not have a house, and it will expand loan programs for them, the ministry said in a statement. 

In this photo taken Nov. 29, 2017, and provided by the transport ministry, Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mee sits down to look at the kitchen sink of a public rental home in southern Seoul. (Yonhap) In this photo taken Nov. 29, 2017, and provided by the transport ministry, Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mee sits down to look at the kitchen sink of a public rental home in southern Seoul. (Yonhap)

For newlyweds, the government will also provide extended housing support for those that have been married for up to seven years without children, as well as would-be couples. It plans to offer 270,000 rental houses for newlyweds at 30-90 percent of market prices depending on income levels, it said.

Currently, young couples who have been married for less than five years are eligible for the government-led housing support programs, the statement said.

For the elderly who own their own homes but do not have a steady income, the government has suggested a program in which they sell their homes and receive money in the form of pensions. These people will be allowed to move into 50,000 public houses, it said.

In addition, the government will also provide 410,000 public rental houses for underprivileged people.

More than 60 percent of the planned 1 million rental properties will be provided in Seoul and the surrounding areas.

The government, which took office May 9, has stepped up its efforts to stabilize the overheated real estate market by adopting regulations and curbing speculation. It plans to announce a set of measures to keep the house rental markets stable and transparent next month.

By 2022, the country's public houses could reach 2 million, accounting for 9 percent of the country's total houses, the ministry said. (Yonhap)