 |
| Seoul currently has almost 271,253 public housing units across the city./Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government |
By Kim Se-jeong
Public housing first appeared in Europe in the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution drew more people into cities for jobs, creating a need for housing.
Korea's first public housing units were built in Seoul in 1962, the same year Park Chung-hee implemented the nation's first economic development plan. The national government organized their creation. The Seoul Metropolitan Government began providing units from 1989.
Although others followed in the ensuing decades with the purpose of providing less-privileged residents with affordable housing, it was never seen as enough because the capital's population grew exponentially and so did housing prices.
Currently, the capital has approximately 10 million people and the people who own their own home account for only around 40 percent. The total number of public housing units in the capital is 271,253.
The majority of it was provided in the last six years _ 140,000 were provided between 2012 and 2017 under Mayor Park Won-soon's leadership.
In the beginning, the city built housing on city government-owned properties constructed by city-contracted companies and managed by Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation, founded in 1989.
By the late 1990s, that was no longer possible, as the city ran out of empty space for new buildings as well as money to implement big housing projects.
The city turned to the private sector for cooperation. By incentivizing private construction companies, the city secured new apartments available for rent below market prices. The city is looking into other ways to secure public housing as well.
It is growingly purchasing old homes and apartment buildings and renting them out after renovation. The city also incentivizes social enterprises that build small-scale social housing units or community housing.
One distinctive feature of Korea's public housing policy is that tenants tend to eventually purchase their apartments. The most common form of public housing contract is where the tenant rents an apartment for 10 years and purchases it afterward. This contributes to relatively a small number of public housing units available in the city. Critics argue this feature waters down the original purpose of the public housing policy and contributes to rising housing prices. The city said it will stop the practice in the future.
Affordable housing has been a key policy issue for city mayors.
Mayor Park who took the office in 2011 scored big credits when it comes to housing policy with 140,000 units acquired in the last six years.
Last month, the city again pledged to add another 240,000 units by 2022.
"In Seoul, high housing prices cost so much for households," a city government official said. "We will continue our efforts to secure more public housing so people will have money to spare to improve the quality of their lives."
But the goal isn't easily won, the city official said.
The biggest obstacle is the not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) sentiment. "People who live close to where a public housing building is to come don't want that because of fear of having their property values decrease," the official said.
According to the city, out of 23 locations where it had planned to build public housing, 12 had been canceled due to local opposition.
The city said there's no other way than to persuade them, and if it fails the project gets scrapped or delayed. "We try to persuade them that the fear of falling prices is groundless," another official said.
![[INTERVIEW] Ecolab helps Korean partners profit from ESG management](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/7a924189dbb7426ab12275ba98702309.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[ANALYSIS] Has N. Korean leader's daughter been confirmed as heir apparent?](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/e65868a1b5834cc3aef853378637d1fd.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] 'Lifeline for migrant workers in Korea' - Rev. Kim fights for foreign employees' rights](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/8fb4b5d381da49df90276394550f2889.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] Korea to work with US, Japan to fight climate change](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/800d9054a14b4a0f9cc576366cc1b914.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] Hip-hop group Uptown returns after 13 years with new lineup](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/0eae35da5e9c40c38cf439e550a2eb3e.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
