Gangnam District in Seoul will expand its support for interest on jeonse and wolse loans targeting newlyweds and young people. The plan is to increase the amount of support and the target of the policy aimed at alleviating the housing costs for newlyweds and the youth. Starting as early as March, the district plans to provide up to 3 million won in loan interest for newlyweds and up to 2 million won in loan interest for the youth.
According to Gangnam District on the 27th, the district is working on revising local government ordinances to increase the income criteria and support amounts for the 'loan interest support for newlyweds and youth' project. A legislative notice regarding the changes will be conducted until February 6.
The revised ordinance concerns the income criteria and support limits for the 'loan interest support for newlyweds and youth' project. This program, which has been implemented since 2023, supports a portion of the interest for newlyweds or young people residing in Gangnam District when they receive jeonse or wolse loans.
Until now, support was available only for households with a combined annual income exceeding 97 million won but less than 120 million won. The district plans to include all households with a combined annual income of less than 130 million won as eligible for support. The support amount for newlyweds will also increase from a maximum of 1.5 million won, which is 1% of the existing loan amount, to a maximum of 3 million won, which is 2% of the loan amount.
Support for the youth will also be strengthened. Previously, only young individuals with an annual income over 40 million won and less than or equal to 60 million won could receive loan interest support. Young people experiencing high housing cost burdens—earning less than 40 million won—were unable to receive support. To address this issue, the plan is to eliminate the lower income threshold for eligibility so that all individuals earning 60 million won or less can receive support. The support amount will increase from a maximum of 1 million won, which is 1% of the loan amount, to a maximum of 2 million won, which is 2% of the loan amount.
Gangnam District stated, 'The living costs in our district are significantly higher than those in other municipalities, so many eligible individuals do not receive support for jeonse and wolse loan interest. We aim to alleviate this support gap by relaxing income criteria and increasing support amounts,' outlining the reasons for the ordinance revisions.
Once the legislative notice is completed, the relaxed support measures are planned to be implemented starting in March or April after the review by the ordinance review committee and the district council in February. A Gangnam District official said, 'The housing cost burden for the youth and newlyweds continues to rise,' adding, 'The district intends to expand support to alleviate this burden as much as possible.' The official further noted, 'The district's will is to ensure ample budgeting so that many benefits can return to the newlyweds and youth who are eligible for support.'
Last year, Gangnam District provided 130 million won in support to 146 households of newlyweds and young people through this program.