Is It Really Public Jeonse? Over 18% of 'Mirinae House' Units Require Deposits Exceeding 1 Billion Won

Number of Applicants Falls Despite Record Supply

Over 67% of Units Exceed Asset Limit for Childless Households

Despite the largest-ever supply of Seoul's ‘Long-Term Jeonse Housing 2 (Mirinae House)’ for newlywed couples, the number of applicants has actually declined. The main reason is seen as the steep rise in Jeonse deposits due to the inclusion of a large number of key locations in the Gangnam area, which has made it difficult for newlyweds to secure the necessary funds.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited Mirinae House at Jamsil Re'el, Sincheon-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the 1st to inspect the residential facilities. 2026.9.1 Photo by Hyunmin Kim

According to Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH) on September 12th, a total of 22,883 people applied for the 8th round of Mirinae House, which closed on September 9th, competing for 496 available units. Although this round marked the highest volume of offerings since the launch of Mirinae House, the number of applicants was lower than the 27,874 for the 6th round and 22,924 for the 7th round. The average competition ratio also dropped somewhat to 46.13 to 1, compared to 69 to 1 for the 6th round and 51 to 1 for the 7th round.

The decline in applicants is attributed to the higher deposit threshold. An analysis by The Asia Business Daily of the Jeonse deposits for the 496 Mirinae House units supplied this time found that 333 units, accounting for 67.1% of the total, exceeded the total asset limit of 662 million won for childless households to qualify for residency. In particular, 89 units, or 17.9% of the total, required deposits of over 1 billion won. Among these, the highest deposit was for an 84㎡ unit at Banpo Xi in Seocho-gu that was being resupplied, with a Jeonse deposit of 1.2636 billion won.

The total asset limit to qualify for Mirinae House occupancy is capped at 662 million won for childless households, regardless of housing price or location. The total asset figure includes not only real estate, but also savings, stocks, pensions, insurance, and more. Even if a household owns up to the asset limit and puts all its cash toward the deposit, moving into the Cheongdam Lael in Gangnam-gu (which requires 1.17 billion won) would still demand raising an additional 508 million won. While residents can pay 70% of the deposit up front and defer 30% to ease the initial burden, obtaining several hundreds of millions of won in additional loans and handling rising interest costs in a high interest rate environment remains a heavy burden for newlywed couples.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has also expressed difficulties in finding a solution. Earlier this month, Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited the Cheongdam Lael development and stated, "Because a fixed number of units in redevelopment and reconstruction projects are secured as rental housing and supplied through the Mirinae House program, we have no choice but to live with some of its drawbacks." He added, "We are aware that there are price levels that are unaffordable for young people and newlyweds, and we are studying how to supplement this."

Experts advised that the high-priced rental market should be left to the private sector. Seojin Hyeong, Professor of Real Estate Law at Kwangwoon University, said, "The government should focus on purchasing public land and supplying large-scale, permanent rental housing complexes in the city center, dramatically raising floor area ratios up to 1,000%. The public sector should focus on housing welfare, while the private sector should handle the high-priced rental market as part of a two-track strategy."

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