Land Ministry likely to brief deregulatory housing measures

SEJONG -- President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s transition team is scheduled to receive a policy briefing from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport over real estate issues later this week, government officials said Tuesday.

In line with Yoon’s earlier pledges to supply 2.5 million housing units nationwide for five years if elected, the Land Ministry’s report could possibly include the market situation in terms of conducting land development as well as deregulations on reconstruction and redevelopment, according to officials.

The ministry is also likely to inform Yoon’s transition team of details to back up Yoon’s pledge for stabilizing home prices in Seoul and satellite cities by pushing for a sufficient supply of apartments. Officials said the policy briefing will be held this Thursday or Friday.

Of the 2.5 million homes, Yoon pledged to supply 1.3 million to 1.5 million units in the Seoul metropolitan area, which includes Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, where apartment prices surged by more than 100 percent in the past five years.

Given the coming administration’s willingness toward active reconstruction and redevelopment, the ministry is expected to suggest feasible ways to ease regulatory hurdles including lowering the standard of safety diagnosis of old apartments.

The ministry could also present ideas about possible effects on the market under the scenario of relaxing the floor area ratio up to 500 percent from the current 300 percent, which is one of Yoon’s property-related pledges.

Above all, concretization of details involving deregulation plans will likely be publicized after the first Land Minister of the coming Yoon administration is named, possibly in May.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)