In the first two months of this year, the number of public sector housing starts was found to be approximately 700 units. This represents about 1% of the government's target of 70,000 public sector housing starts for the year.
According to the national land and transportation statistics website on the 8th, the total number of public sector dwelling construction starts across the country in the first two months of this year was recorded at 673 units.
In January of this year, the total number of public sector dwelling construction starts nationwide was 47 units. There were no units for national rental or public sale, and 47 units of public rental in Seoul were the only ones. There were also no starts from local governments.
In February, the number of public sector housing starts nationwide recorded 626 units. In the public sector, 348 units were started: 20 national rental units and 288 public rental units in Seoul, and 40 public rental units in Daejeon. When combined with local government units of 278, a total of 626 public sector housing units were started.
This is about 1% compared to the public sector housing start target set by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for this year. The Ministry set the public sector housing start target at 70,000 units, an increase of 20,000 units from last year. The Ministry noted that it aims to start more than 20% (14,000 units) of the annual target within the first half of the year.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has consecutively announced notifications to change the construction project plans established before public sector housing starts this year. Due to these changes, project periods, including the starting point, have extended from several months to several years, along with rising project costs.
The public housing construction project at block A-2 in Gyeonggi Province's Hanam, promoted by Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), was changed to a privately participated public housing construction project in February of this year, extending the project period from December 2026 to October 2027, an increase of 10 months. Although the number of apartment buildings decreased from 14 to 10, the project cost increased from 396.8 billion won to 471.1 billion won, an increase of 74.3 billion won.
In the same month, the public housing construction project in the Wirye district A1-14 block, promoted jointly by Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH) and LH (370 units for sale, 185 rental units), saw an increase in project costs from 164.6 billion won to 247.9 billion won, an increase of 83.3 billion won.
The construction project for the A-7 block of public housing in Bucheon conducted by LH (473 units for public sale) also extended its project period from December 2026 to October 2027, an increase of 10 months. The maximum number of apartment floors decreased from 9 to 8, while project costs increased by approximately 87 billion won. The construction project for A-1 block of public housing near Bucheon Sports Complex (happy housing, 305 units) also had its completion period delayed from March of this year to January 2028, nearly a 3-year extension.
This month, LH's Changwon Yongwon public housing construction project (happy housing) also changed from an apartment project to an officetel project. The original plan to build an apartment complex comprising 401 units across three buildings from three basement levels to 19 stories was changed to a project for an officetel with 180 units across two buildings from two basement levels to 12 stories. In this process, the project cost increased from 64.1 billion won to 96.5 billion won, an increase of 32.3 billion won.
The public housing construction project at block C4 in Seongnam Bokjeong 1 (398 units for permanent housing and national rental) also extended its project period from March of this year to March 2030, an increase of 5 years.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport explained that various reasons for delays occurred at each public housing construction site, causing project durations to extend by as little as several months to as long as a year.
A Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport official noted, "Various factors delaying projects arose at each site before public housing starts, inevitably delaying the starts and extending the project durations." They stated, "We will do our best to achieve the goal of starting 70,000 public housing units this year."