[2026 Parliamentary Audit] Land Minister Hong Jiseon: "Orders Working-Level Talks With Seoul on Housing Supply; Consults on Urban Complex Project, Yongsan Park"

"Consult with Seoul on the Publicly Led Urban Housing Complex Project and Yongsan Park
Ordered working-level consultations... Will hold a briefing by year-end"

Hong Jiseon, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said he would hold working-level consultations with the Seoul Metropolitan Government on expanding the housing supply. He also said the government would use consultations to accelerate projects where it disagrees with the city, including the Publicly Led Urban Housing Complex Project and Yongsan Park.

Hong made the remarks on Oct. 7 during a parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport before the National Assembly’s Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, responding to a question from Yeom Tae-young, a lawmaker of the Democratic Party of Korea, on whether he planned to discuss housing supply policies with the Seoul Metropolitan Government. “I have also just instructed officials to hold working-level consultations,” he said.

Hong Jiseon, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, answers lawmakers’ questions during a parliamentary audit of the ministry and other agencies held by the National Assembly’s Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee on the 7th. Yonhap News

Yeom said that six districts in Seoul’s Publicly Led Urban Housing Complex Project were at a standstill because the Seoul Metropolitan Government had delayed convening a preliminary planning consultative body. Follow-up procedures, such as selecting a construction company, can proceed only after the body sets specific floor area ratio levels.

Regarding allegations that the Seoul Metropolitan Government was deliberately delaying the projects, Hong said, “The housing supply policies pursued by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the central government cannot be different. We will address the problems causing delays where detailed consultations have not been completed, and move forward through discussions between the two sides.” He added, “We will arrange a separate meeting to report on related matters by the end of this year.”

Hong also said he would discuss housing supply with the Seoul Metropolitan Government using land at Yongsan Park. In response to a question from Yoon Jong-gun, a lawmaker of the Democratic Party of Korea, on whether Seoul could begin construction on more than 10,000 housing units in the city center within two to three years if the city acted with determination, Hong agreed, saying, “That is right.”

Hong added, “I recently met Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon at an event hosted by a media outlet, and we agreed to first move forward with matters that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Seoul Metropolitan Government have been discussing.” He said, “We will continue working-level consultations.”

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