LH to Cut Public Housing Land Compensation Timeline by 20 Months

The Korea Land and Housing Corp. plans to put 344 additional specialists into land compensation work as it seeks to speed up housing supply in the Seoul metropolitan area.

LH said it will expand compensation teams and improve procedures to bring forward the start of construction. Experienced staff from its headquarters and regional offices, employees hired during the first half of the year, and fixed-term professional workers will be assigned to major housing sites. LH plans to hire 250 compensation specialists this month.

The agency aims to complete compensation and land acquisition more quickly in the third-generation new towns, including Gwangmyeong-Siheung and Seoul’s Seoripul district. For newly launched compensation areas, the period from district designation to the start of development construction will fall from 44 months to 24 months.

LH will begin basic surveys earlier and conduct them alongside appraisals. That will reduce the time from the basic survey to the start of negotiated compensation from 21 months to nine months. The period from negotiated compensation to a land expropriation ruling, including acquisition through a deposit, will fall from 12 months to nine months. The agency also expects to save five months by accelerating relocation and evictions after compensation.

LH will introduce incentives for landowners who cooperate with the compensation process, with details to follow after amendments to the Special Act on Public Housing. Owners who refuse to hand over or relocate land and property after receiving compensation could face enforcement fines.

LH President Lee Seong-hoon inspected the Gwangmyeong-Siheung site on the day of the announcement. The district is the largest public housing project among the third-generation new towns. Negotiated compensation began in July, and contracts had been signed with about 27% of landowners after one month, involving roughly 2.4 trillion won in compensation.