South Korea launches 500 billion won reserve-land tender to prepare for housing demand

South Korea has launched a 500 billion won public land-reserve program aimed at securing metropolitan-area sites that could later support housing supply.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Land and Housing Corporation said the program follows the government’s Aug. 13 plan for rapid housing supply. It marks the first pilot project focused on proactively acquiring public land to manage supply and demand and stabilize the market, rather than reserving land mainly for local government roads, industrial parks and other public projects.

The land bank operated by LH will review applications from institutions, companies and individuals. It will consider whether sites could support public-interest projects and whether they are suitable for public reserve purposes before selecting purchases worth 500 billion won in total.

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We will actively pursue this program so that land secured in the Seoul metropolitan area through public supply-and-demand reserves can be used quickly for housing supply in urban areas.

Eligible properties must be at least 3,300 square meters and capable of supporting apartment construction in the Seoul metropolitan area. Land with buildings, mortgages or seizure orders will be excluded, as will farmland and forest land subject to acquisition or use restrictions. Prices will be negotiated with owners at or below the average of appraisals by two appraisal firms selected by LH.

Owners can apply from Aug. 29 through Sept. 28 by visiting one of LH’s four metropolitan regional offices, sending documents by mail or using the LH website. The ministry will also offer tailored consultations from the announcement date through Sept. 28 for institutions and companies holding idle land that could support projects in the metropolitan area.

The schedule calls for eligibility notifications in December, surveys and appraisals followed by price negotiations in January, and contract signing around February next year. Shin Yun-keun, the ministry’s land policy official, said the pilot would be developed so that secured land could be used quickly for urban housing, while the system would be refined after gathering feedback.

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As this is the first pilot project to implement a public land-reserve system for housing supply, we will improve the system after gathering a range of opinions.