President Lee Jae-myung visited the Gyeyang third-generation new town site in Incheon on the 20th and stressed that about 90 percent of public housing in the new towns must start construction by 2030. He ordered a drastic cut in the time needed for site preparation, permits and groundbreaking.
According to the Kyunghyang Shinmun and Hankook Ilbo, Lee toured the A3 block of the Gyeyang public housing district on the 20th and met prospective residents and transport experts. Land Minister Hong Ji-seon, Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae and LH President Lee Seong-hun accompanied him. Gyeyang is the first of the new towns to see residents move in; Hankook Ilbo said move-ins begin this December.
광고 문의 · 300×250“Above all, what matters is speed,” the president said. Etoday reported that he argued supply should be measured by move-ins rather than construction starts, and urged that transport, schools and district heating be ready when residents arrive. He also noted that housing permits and starts fell by nearly half from 2022 through last year and said supply must be pulled forward to close the gap.
The 90 percent target and specific orders
The 90 percent goal was set by the government in August. Lee told the land ministry and LH to “keep our word.” Hankook Ilbo reported that total supply in the capital-region third-generation new towns is 176,000 homes, of which Gyeyang accounts for about 17,000. The exact basis for calculating the 90 percent figure and district-by-district schedules were not confirmed in the coverage.
His instructions were concrete: run site preparation, permitting and groundbreaking in parallel, and speed up every stage including planning and land compensation. He asked Minister Hong to consider adding LH staff and expanding financial incentives for fast supply, and asked LH President Lee to examine whether legislation could fix delays caused by landowners’ civil suits during compulsory acquisition.
Challenges ahead
Lee said any rule that obstructs the target should be fixed and invited candid input from those on site. Hankook Ilbo reported that he had earlier told a cabinet meeting to break with past practice and wage a supply ‘blitzkrieg’, and that he expects supply to normalize after 2028.
Execution is the test. Bringing groundbreaking forward would require legal changes to shorten compensation and permitting, plus adequate LH staffing and finances, but no concrete legislative timetable or funding figure was confirmed in this coverage. Some in the market say what matters is whether groundbreaking targets translate into actual move-in numbers.