Lee calls for full speed ahead on housing amid supply crunch

President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday called for accelerating housing supply to the “fullest extent possible” to address a looming shortage after years of sluggish construction, as his administration faces mounting pressure to stabilize the property market.

Lee made the remarks during a visit to the Gyeyang public housing district in Incheon, west of Seoul, where he welcomed residents moving into the first completed housing complex among South Korea's third-generation new towns.

“The rapid supply of housing in the third-generation new towns will be a critical turning point that determines the success or failure of our real estate policy,” Lee said.

Emphasizing the urgency of turning government pledges into completed homes, Lee said, “Above all, what matters most is speed.”

“To meet the public's expectations, we must produce tangible results by ensuring that previously announced measures swiftly lead to actual move-ins,” he said.

Lee pointed to a sharp decline in housing permits and construction starts between 2022 and last year, saying both had fallen by nearly half.

With housing projects typically taking about three years from approval to completion, the earlier slowdown now threatens to translate into a shortage of completed homes, highlighting the challenge of reversing a supply crunch that has been years in the making.

Lee urged officials to explore “every possible measure to close the gap” and prevent further delays.

“I urge the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Korea Land and Housing Corp. and other relevant agencies to make every effort to break ground on roughly 90 percent of planned public housing units in the third-generation new towns by 2030, as outlined in the target announced in August,” Lee said.

The target is part of the government's Aug. 13 housing supply package, which aims to add more than 230,000 homes in the Seoul metropolitan area on top of an existing plan for 1.35 million units between 2026 and 2030. The measures also seek to shorten administrative procedures that have delayed construction.

The emphasis on faster construction reflects a growing recognition that announcing ambitious housing targets alone will do little to ease supply pressures unless projects move quickly from planning to completion.

“We must deliver on our promises,” Lee said. “I ask you to fundamentally review all existing procedures, break away from conventional practices and do everything possible to bring forward construction schedules, even by a single day.”

The push comes as Lee's administration seeks to stabilize the housing market through a combination of tighter lending restrictions, measures to curb speculative demand and expanded housing supply.

But while restrictions on borrowing and speculative purchases can help contain demand in the near term, new housing takes years to complete, leaving the government with limited options to quickly ease supply constraints.

Housing policy has also become a growing political challenge for Lee.

A Gallup Korea survey of 1,003 adults conducted Oct. 13-15 showed his approval rating at 39 percent, up two percentage points from the previous week, while disapproval rose one point to 52 percent. Real estate policy was the most frequently cited reason for negative assessments of his performance.