President Lee Han-joon of Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH) delivered his first New Year’s message after he took office.
President Lee reaffirmed LH’s goal of being reborn as an entity committed to restoring public trust and spearheading the stability of housing, particularly by releasing quality public housing units.
In the message, President Lee set four tasks LH will implement during 2023: restoring public trust and fulfilling reform; supplying quality public housing units under brands favored by people; expanding housing welfare services; improving financial soundness; and pondering what roles LH will play in the future.
It was noteworthy that President Lee came up with a dramatic plan to supply rental housing units which have no noise from floors.
The plan may be construed as LH’s determination to release quality housing units, breaking down the conventional stereotype public housing units are inferior in terms of quality.
President Lee also stressed the renewal of 1st new satellite cities. In the message, Lee emphasized the expanding of LH’s role, ranging from managing cities and housing units to their operation, starting with renewal of 1st new satellites cities.
As for building 3rd new satellite cities, President Lee set a principle of allowing apartment occupants to move in after securing transportation.
President Lee’s message took up the debt ratio, which he did not allude to in 2022. He set a goal of improving financial soundness for sustainable management.
LH was designated by the Ministry of Economy and Finance as an entity with financial risk. LH now has to have its debt ratio lowered from the current 221 percent to 207 percent by 2027.
Managing the debt ratio is one of LH’s mid- and long-term tasks.
LH has been lowering the debt ratio from levels of 400 percent in 2020, when it was launched as an integrated entity. LH’s debt ratio is still higher than public entities’ average.
The corporation has to lower the debt ratio to a range of 100 percent as it should come up with high-tensity restructuring steps, such as asset-backed securitization.
President Lee foretold retrenchment management, saying that idle assets would be disposed of, and money outflows would be minimized through diversifying of businesses and saving of costs.
President Lee said, “LH will go beyond LH’s tasks of timely supplying units, such as supplying 500,000 public housing distribution units, 500,000 public rental units and 3rd new satellite cities and usher in a new future of quality public housing without noise among floors.”
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