Choi Inho, HUG President, Visits Housing Association to Announce "Strengthened Guarantee Support for CR REITs"

"Delivering Guarantee Services That Make a Real Difference On-Site"

Choi Inho, President of the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG), visited the Korea Housing Association in person and announced plans to strengthen guarantee support for Corporate Restructuring (CR) REITs.

According to HUG on April 3, President Choi held a meeting with Yoon Youngjun, Chairman of the Korea Housing Association, and others at the association's office in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, the previous day. They discussed key industry issues such as revitalizing project financing (PF) and redevelopment projects, as well as resolving unsold housing inventory.

At the meeting, President Choi promised expedited guarantee processing for CR REITs that purchase unsold housing in regional areas and operate them as rentals, aligning with the schedules of financial institutions. He also pledged active guarantee support for additional housing acquisitions.

CR REITs are real estate investment companies that purchase unsold homes with HUG guarantees and then operate them as rentals or sell them in the future. This system is designed to ease the financial difficulties of construction companies and promote stability in the housing market.

Choi Inho, President of the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) (third from left), and Yoon Youngjun, Chairman of the Korea Housing Association (fourth from left), along with others, are taking a commemorative photo at the HUG-Housing Industry meeting held on the 2nd at the Korea Housing Association conference room in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation

President Choi stated, "By taking the first step to be more approachable and offering kindness, HUG will create an environment in which the housing industry can focus on stable housing supply with peace of mind. Our commitment to proactive service and innovation is the embodiment of a warm HUG, and this applies equally to our relationship with the housing sector."

Yoon Youngjun, Chairman of the Korea Housing Association, responded, "I am deeply grateful that the HUG president visited the field in person to lead open and informal communication. Strengthening communication with the housing industry through HUG's renewed, customer-focused service and innovation is expected to greatly contribute to the recovery of the challenging housing market."

It is unusual for the new HUG president to break from the tradition of simply receiving courtesy visits from related organizations and instead visit the association directly to coordinate key issues with working-level staff. An industry official commented, "In the past, new heads of public institutions were typically visited by association representatives, but this is the first time a HUG president has taken the initiative. This was not a mere formality, but rather a substantive dialogue based on a thorough understanding of the work."

This visit is part of President Choi's ongoing series of on-site management activities. Since taking office at the end of January, President Choi has consecutively visited the Busan Jeonse Damage Support Center, a briefing session on lease guarantee implementation at Paraview Apartments in Asan, Chungnam, the Korea REITs Association, the Korea Housing Construction Association, and the Korea Developers Association. He also visited sites in Busan to hear directly from local housing project participants and PF lenders involved in applications for HUG’s unsold housing repurchase program.

Choinho, President of Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG), and Yoon Youngjun, Chairman of the Korea Housing Association, among others, are discussing industry issues at the HUG-Housing Industry meeting held at the Korea Housing Association in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 2nd. HUG

Meanwhile, in April, HUG designated three regions—Jung-gu in Incheon, and Icheon and Yangju in Gyeonggi Province—as unsold housing management areas. This is unchanged from the previous month.

The total number of unsold apartment units in these three regions amounts to 5,652. This represents about 8.5% of the nationwide total of unsold housing units, which stands at 66,208.

Among these, Jung-gu in Incheon was found to be the most serious case, meeting all three designation criteria: increase in unsold inventory, sluggish sales, and concerns over unsold housing. Yangju in Gyeonggi Province has remained on the management area list for five consecutive months since December 2025.

Unsold housing management areas are designated among cities, counties, or districts where there are more than 1,000 unsold units and the proportion of unsold units exceeds 2% of the total multi-family housing stock. A region is designated if it meets at least one of the following criteria: increase in unsold inventory, sluggish sales, or concerns over unsold housing.

Developers seeking PF guarantees from HUG for housing projects in these designated areas must pass a pre-screening process by HUG prior to site acquisition.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.