Prime Minister visits Suwon redevelopment site…industry eyes 'acceleration' in housing supply

Prime Minister Han Seung-soo visited a Suwon redevelopment project site and ordered swift groundbreaking, drawing attention to efforts to expand housing supply through private maintenance projects.

According to the Office of the Prime Minister and others on the 13th, PM Han visited the Yeongdong 1 District redevelopment project site in Maetan-dong, Yeongdong-gu, Suwon that afternoon to review the project's progress and held a meeting with stakeholders.

At a meeting held at the Suwon Youth Culture Center, PM Han emphasized, "Without swift implementation of private maintenance projects, it is difficult to achieve the government's housing supply goals," and said "Now is the time to concentrate all efforts so that groundbreaking can happen as soon as possible."

He further stated, "The planned volume must lead to actual groundbreaking so that citizens can feel and trust the government's housing supply efforts," and urged cooperation from relevant agencies.

PM Han noted that the private sector accounts for over 80% of total housing supply in the Seoul metropolitan area, and stated that cooperation among project stakeholders—including the government and local governments, as well as cooperatives, construction companies, and financial institutions—is important.

At the meeting that day, discussions were held on solutions to expedite permit processing and inter-agency coordination procedures, resolve financing difficulties in project fund procurement, and address issues such as construction cost disputes that arise in the maintenance project promotion process.

PM Han ordered relevant agencies to prepare implementation plans centered on matters that can be immediately improved within the current system. He also indicated his intention to continuously monitor progress until the discussed matters lead to actual groundbreaking results.

The Yeongdong 1 District is currently undergoing demolition work, and the project is being promoted with a target of beginning main construction by the end of the year.

This visit was coordinated with the Land Ministry's monitoring of maintenance project progress by site.

The government explained that as the Land Ministry monitors the progress of Seoul metropolitan area maintenance projects by site, Yeongdong 1 District was selected as a visit site in the process of identifying project sites where groundbreaking is imminent.

The government is also promoting support measures to accelerate groundbreaking in private maintenance projects.

At a housing construction and real estate industry meeting chaired by PM Han in September, key tasks included consolidated processing of various permit approvals and reduction of re-examinations, simplification of project plan change procedures, and normalization of project finance (PF).

The government's policy is to promote follow-up measures linked to its monitoring system at relevant ministries based on such field suggestions.

The construction and real estate industry is watching whether the government's support measures will lead to substantial shortening of project timelines. Since maintenance projects involve multiple procedures including permitting, decision-making within cooperatives, fund procurement, and construction cost negotiations, support tailored to conditions at each project site is necessary.

An industry official said, "Since the government has emphasized swift groundbreaking in private maintenance projects, follow-up measures such as improved permit procedures and financial support must be substantively implemented," and added, "On the back of this visit, we hope the pace of housing supply in the Seoul metropolitan area will accelerate."