The government plans to secure idle land worth 5 trillion won ($4.5 billion) in anticipation of housing demand in the Seoul metropolitan area. The initiative aims to proactively acquire prime land suitable for residential development to accelerate future housing supply.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) announced on September 8 that they will launch a public solicitation for the acquisition of public land reserves for supply adjustment in 2026 as a follow-up to the 'Rapid Housing Supply Plan.'
This solicitation marks the first pilot project to proactively secure land for supply adjustment to stabilize the market. Previously, public land reserves were primarily focused on land needed for public projects in local governments with budget constraints, such as roads and industrial complexes.
The government will conduct an open solicitation targeting institutions, companies, and individuals. From September 29, for one month, it will review the suitability of the land for public projects and the appropriateness of public reserves to select acquisition targets worth 5 trillion won.
The land eligible for acquisition must be at least 3,300 square meters and suitable for the construction of multi-family housing in the Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon areas. Land with existing buildings, encumbrances such as mortgages or seizures, and agricultural or forest land with restrictions on acquisition or use will be excluded.
The purchase price will be determined through negotiations with the owner, based on the arithmetic average of the appraised value assessed by two appraisers selected by LH.
The acquisition process will proceed in the following order: pre-consultation, application submission, eligibility notification, surveying and appraisal, price negotiation, and contract signing. Pre-consultation will take place from September 8 to 28, with application submissions accepted from September 29 to October 28. Eligibility notifications will be issued in December, followed by surveying, appraisal, and price negotiations in January, with contract signing planned for February.
Those wishing to sell land can visit one of LH's four metropolitan headquarters or submit the necessary documents, including the sale application, by mail or through the LH website.
From the announcement date of September 8 until the day before application submissions on September 28, the Ministry of Land and LH will also provide tailored pre-consultation services to institutions and companies holding idle land that can be utilized for projects in the metropolitan area.
As securing available land in the metropolitan area becomes increasingly challenging, the government's proactive land reserve strategy is expected to enhance the effectiveness of future supply measures.
Shin Yoon-geun, Director of Land Policy at the Ministry of Land, stated, “Through this public land reserve for supply adjustment, we plan to actively promote the swift utilization of secured land for housing supply in urban areas. As this is the first pilot project for the public land reserve system for housing supply, we will gather various opinions to refine the system.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
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