The government is busy drawing up housing supply measures for the Seoul metropolitan area, aiming to announce them as early as next week. For now, inter-ministerial cooperation is being strengthened on existing sites where development has lagged, such as Taereung in Seoul, while securing new sites by lifting development-restricted zones (greenbelts) is also being floated as an alternative. However, the Seoul Metropolitan Government is taking a hard line against lifting greenbelts, and some point out that, given permitting and other procedures, the actual pace of supply will not be as fast as hoped.

Following a closed-door review meeting on the 3rd chaired by President Lee upon returning from his tour of the United States and South America, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is reexamining the housing supply measures it has been preparing. Attending the meeting were Minister Kim Yoon-deok of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Gu Yoon-cheol; Minister Ahn Kyu-baek of the Ministry of National Defense; and Minister Song Mi-ryeong of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, among others.

A Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport official said in a phone call on the 5th, “We have announced various supply measures over time, but there were aspects that stalled due to opposition from local residents or differing positions among related ministries,” adding, “(As for the meeting on the 3rd,) it ultimately served to empower the effort, with the President emphasizing that related ministries should ‘speak with one voice to accelerate progress and persuade opposition groups’.”

Through the Jan. 29 measures, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced a plan to supply 60,000 homes by utilizing national and public land: 12,600 homes on the Yongsan International Business District and Camp Kim sites, 9,800 on the Gwacheon Racecourse and Counterintelligence Command sites, and 6,800 at Taereung Country Club. Cooperation among related ministries is essential the Gwacheon Racecourse involves the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and Taereung Country Club involves the Ministry of National Defense and, according to the ministry, President Lee gathered the relevant ministers in one place at the meeting on the 3rd and called for ‘one voice,’ giving new momentum to the supply push.

First, for new sites, the ministry plans to accelerate progress by having the ‘Pan-Government Rapid Housing Site Innovation Taskforce’ which includes the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment and the Korea Heritage Service conduct an integrated review of permitting and compensation, and environmental and cultural heritage impacts. A ministry official said, “We are proceeding under a principle of parallel processing rather than sequential steps, so the pace will quicken.”

However, each site faces a host of issues to resolve. The government maintains that more than 10,000 homes should be built in the Yongsan International Business District, but the Seoul Metropolitan Government, citing schools and the residential environment, maintains that more than 8,000 homes is unacceptable, and the two sides remain at odds.

At the Gwacheon Racecourse, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to solicit and finalize a relocation site through a public call in September, but the Korea Racing Authority is mounting strong resistance. The authority has put the relocation cost alone at 2.4 trillion won and is also demanding various tax-rate reductions. At Taereung Country Club, persistent concerns about traffic congestion on the Bukbu Arterial Road and other routes the main reason local residents opposed the project under the Moon Jae-in administration are still a drag. The requirement to first conduct a World Heritage impact assessment on the royal tombs of the Joseon Dynasty at Taereung, Gangneung, and elsewhere could also slow things down later.

With coordination over existing sites proving difficult, lifting greenbelts is emerging as an alternative, but whether that is even possible is itself contentious. Sites within greenbelts being mentioned as candidates include the reserve forces training ground in Naegok-dong, Seocho-gu, and the Olympic Athletes Village in Bangi-dong, Songpa-gu.

At a real estate forum on the 27th, Minister Kim Yoon-deok even said, “Since becoming minister, I have developed a strong desire to build homes even if it requires lifting greenbelts.”

The Seoul Metropolitan Government, however, remains adamantly opposed to lifting greenbelts. It said that, in discussions that day between Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Cheong Wa Dae Chief of Policy Kim Yong-beom, he stated, “We absolutely cannot lift greenbelts.”

Even if greenbelts were lifted, critics note that it would still take considerable time to deliver actual supply. The third new towns are a case in point. In Goyang Changneung, Hanam Gyosan, and Namyangju Wangsuk sites created by lifting greenbelts in the greater Seoul area plans were announced in 2018~2019, but sales only began last year. Many sites have still not broken ground even 7~8 years after the plans were unveiled.