The Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH) announced on Feb. 26 that its budget for the construction of houses and other related projects, including the purchase of land and housing welfare programs, has been set at 17.5 trillion won. This year LH will mark the 1 millionth rental unit under its management. The budget figures are up 1.2 trillion won from last year and are the largest in the past four years.
The budget breaks down to 3.8 trillion won for the purchase of land; 4.1 trillion won for projects to level land to build homes; 7.8 trillion won to build homes; and 1.8 trillion won for various housing welfare programs.
LH will also strengthen its role to stabilize the housing market around the country and it is set to execute 6.4 trillion won out of the 12.4 trillion won set to be used as funds in the first half, while another 13.8 trillion won will be used to pay for projects and services ordered by LH, which is 1.8 trillion won more than those allotted last year.
LH plans to build seven housing complexes in and around Seoul as a part of a government’s "Happy Housing" project.
The project aims to provide homes for people in their 20s and 30s, including newlyweds, college students, and people who recently joined the workforce.
The state-run corporation will construct 10,050 apartments on 489,000 square meters of government-owned railway land.
"The project seeks to give active support to the young population, who face many challenges in society, and to help them to fulfill their life goals," LH said in a press release. Six of the seven complexes will be in Seoul. A total of 2,800 units will be built in Mok 1-dong, Yangcheon; 1,800 in Jamsil-dong and 1,600 in Garak-dong, Songpa-gu; 1,500 in Oryu-dong, Guro-gu, 650 in Namgajwa-dong, Seodaemun-gu; and 200 in Gongneung-dong, Nowon-gu The remaining 1,500 will be built in Gojan-dong in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. LH and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said they had been "fair and objective" in selecting the districts.
“Our selection criteria centered on easy access to public transport, education and shopping areas," said Land Minister Suh Seoung-hwan in a statement. "We will push to boost the economy in the designated areas by building the residential units and also developing commercial areas." The Park Geun-hye administration devised the project to tackle the housing accessibility problem. People in their 20s and 30s are finding it harder and harder to find property because of skyrocketing jeonse prices.
Jeonse is a lump sum deposit a tenant pays to a landlord at the start of a rental contract. The money is returned with no interest when the contract expires, typically after two years. The imputed interest is considered as rent. In return, tenants do not pay monthly rent. Under the "Happy Housing" project, the rental apartments will be built in accordance with the characteristics of each respective zone.
For example, Oryu-dong in the industrial district of Guro will be developed under the concept of eco-friendliness with a park and community health center.
Sports facilities will be set up in Jamsil-dong, Songpa alongside stadiums that were used for the Seoul Olympics in 1988.
In Ansan, including Gojan-dong, there are many foreign workers, so the focus will be on communicating with multiracial families. LH has also been running a similar housing program, titled "Bogeumjari." It is similar to "Happy Housing Project" in that it rents out shelters for low-income earners with no homes.
Since 1962, the firm has provided a total of 2.3 million public housing units for low-income households. Three years ago, the Korea Housing Corp. and Korea Land Corp. were merged into LH. The figure accounts for 15.5 percent of the total 14.7 million homes that have been constructed in Korea.
_LH 진주사옥.jpg)
A view of the building in Jeonju, North Jolla Province where LH has offices.
_박상우 현장점검.jpg)
