Seoul to Double Subway Station Zone... 17,500 Additional Youth Safety Housing Units to Be Supplied

Oh Sehoon Listens to Youth Concerns Over Housing Costs, Loans, and Contract Renewals
Seoul Doubles Subway Station Zone for Housing Projects
17,500 Additional Youth Safety Housing Units by 2030
Total 74,000 Youth Housing Units to Be Supplied by 2030

On August 12, the Seoul city government announced that to accelerate the supply of Youth Safety Housing, it is considering doubling the designated zone for the project around subway stations and reviewing ways to increase new permits. With these measures, the city aims to supply an additional 17,500 units of Youth Safety Housing for young people by 2030.

Aerial view of the Youth Safe Housing in Daehak-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, completed in 2024. Seoul City

Expansion of Youth Safety Housing Zone Around Subway Stations to 500 Meters Under Review... 17,500 Additional Units by 2030

To meet strong demand for youth housing, the city will expand the foundation for Youth Safety Housing. Youth Safety Housing is a flagship Seoul City initiative that provides high-quality housing near subway stations to unmarried youth and newlywed couples at prices below market rates.

As of the end of July this year, 101 sites, totaling 33,621 units, have been completed. The rent for public rental units is about 30–50% of the surrounding market price, while public-supported private rental units are offered at 75–85% or less of market rates, depending on the type. In this year’s first public rental recruitment, the average competition rate was 105:1.

To broaden the supply base, the city is reviewing an expansion of the project-eligible subway station zones from a 250-meter radius to a walkable distance of 500 meters. The plan is to expand eligible sites and improve supply conditions for Youth Safety Housing.

Additionally, in response to a forecasted decrease in new permits after 2025, since April, the city has temporarily raised the interest subsidy limit for construction funding by private operators from a maximum of 2% to 4% for three years. The city also plans to revise operating standards this month to temporarily ease the public contribution rate by five percentage points over the same period.

Through these measures, the city aims to complete an additional 17,500 Youth Safety Housing units by 2030, bringing the cumulative total to around 46,000 units.

Total 74,000 Youth Housing Units to Be Supplied by 2030

According to the "Youth Housing Stability Measures" announced in March, the city will supply 74,000 customized youth housing units by 2030. This total includes 49,000 pre-existing project units—such as public sales and rental housing, Mirinae Jip, long-term safety housing, and Youth Safety Housing—plus approximately 25,000 new units reflecting youth needs, thus covering demand from university students to young workers and newlywed couples at each stage of life.

The supply includes 10,000 "Sprout One-room" university units offered at affordable rates, 2,000 "Didimdol" units that support both stable housing and asset formation for low-income youth, and 600 "Baronae Jip" units to help with homeownership through long-term installment plans.

In addition, the city will create a base to supply 1,700 youth-specialized housing units, 6,000 shared housing units for students and young people, and 5,000 registered private co-living houses focused on station and business districts.

By 2030, the city will also reduce housing costs for 250,000 young people. This includes supporting costs that young people feel in their daily lives—such as monthly rent, deposit loan interest, and utility fees—so that they can prepare for the future with more stability.

Youth Monthly Rent Support was expanded this year to 200,000 won per month for 28,000 people annually, and a new program will be created to provide 80,000 won per month in management fee support to youths who were not selected for the rent subsidy.

The city will also ease the income threshold for youth deposit loan interest support from 40 million won to 50 million won per year and support interest of up to 3% on loans, reducing the annual burden for 5,000 young people.

To quickly implement these policies, the city established the "Youth Housing Division" last month. This division is exclusively responsible for youth housing supply, housing cost support, and the prevention of jeonse fraud.

On this day, Mayor Oh visited "Gaebong Sageum" in Guro-gu, where he toured the community and living spaces and held a meeting with three resident youths. Mayor Oh stated, "Listening to the youth today, I was reminded that a home is not merely a place to stay, but the starting point for studying, working, saving, and preparing for the future. We will focus our administrative capacity not only on increasing housing supply, but also on policies that young people can truly feel, such as financial and rent support."

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