Government to Host First Real Estate Policy Forum on July 14 in Seoul

The government is set to launch a series of public forums to gather public opinion on real estate market issues. The first forum, organized by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, will take place on July 14 in Jeong-dong, Seoul.
 
According to the government on July 13, approximately 60 participants are expected, including Minister Kim Yoon-deok, First Vice Minister Kim I-tak, and various experts from academia, media, housing, and finance sectors, as well as ordinary citizens. As the primary agency responsible for housing policy, the Ministry is expected to focus on various supply strategies under the theme of "expanding housing supply" during this initial forum.
 
The forum will specifically review the implementation status of the previously announced "9.7 measures" and "1.29 plan," addressing immediate challenges for swift execution. Discussions are likely to include the activation of non-apartment supply, such as officetels and urban living housing, as well as easing regulations on private redevelopment projects.
 
In light of recent instability in the Seoul rental market, experts anticipate a thorough examination of the impact of regulations on multiple homeowners that have led to a shortage of rental properties, along with strategies to diversify the supply of tailored rental housing. Additionally, the potential repeal of the excess profit recovery system for reconstruction and the rationalization of property valuation methods, which hinder the early activation of redevelopment projects, will also be on the agenda.
 
The government initially planned to hold the real estate policy forum over the past weekend. However, following President Lee Jae-myung's recent social media comments on related issues such as property taxes and transaction taxes, government agencies took additional time to incorporate these topics into their joint materials.
 
Industry insiders and market experts view this forum as a pivotal moment for aligning the various ministries. Requests for guidelines on construction cost disputes from large construction firms and calls for expanded tax benefits for the non-apartment sector will ultimately need to be linked to discussions on loan regulation levels by the Financial Services Commission on July 15 and tax reform proposals by the Ministry of Economy and Finance on July 16.
 
The series of real estate forums will continue with the Financial Services Commission's housing finance forum on July 15 and the Ministry of Economy and Finance's tax forum on July 16. The final event will be a comprehensive real estate policy forum chaired by President Lee Jae-myung on July 23, which is expected to outline the government's overall response direction.
 
A Ministry official stated, "This event is not merely a platform for the government to announce policies unilaterally, but a forum to directly hear the voices of experts, industry representatives, and the general public. Despite spatial and physical constraints, we will actively seek to gather opinions on housing policies through a dense discussion process."