25 February 2021 | Gyeonggi – The fulfilment of basic housing needs is one of the milestones that a city needs to achieve. In relation to this, Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Housing and Urban Corporation held the ‘2021 Gyeonggi Basic Housing Conference’ at the Suwon Convention Centre on February 25, 2021. Domestic and foreign experts made basic housing policy proposals, presented overseas cases, and engaged in discussions. Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jaemyung, the Danish Ambassador to Korea, members of the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly and Korean National Assembly, mayors of cities in Gyeonggi Province, and several housing experts as well as related officials were among the attendees.
In his opening address, Governor Lee said, “What we have to consider is the fact that a community should be responsible for the minimum living standards of its members in any form.” He added, “To solve the housing problem, which has become a national pain, we need to eliminate speculation and fear demand. Basic housing in Gyeonggi Province will be the first step in resolving this issue.”
The conference was designed to gain insights from discussions of implications of overseas public rental policies; basic housing rental (long-term lease) directions and models; and basic housing sale (public land lease) models. The event saw the sharing of domestic and foreign public housing trends, as well as cases from the Netherlands, Denmark, and Singapore, accompanied by presentations and panel discussions. Participants agreed that housing policy needs to be transformed into a universal welfare policy.
Governor Lee proposed a housing tax system and financial mechanisms as a solution to large-scale speculative ownership and suggested basic housing as a way to eliminate fear demand. Basic housing in Gyeonggi Province refers to new public housing that ensures universal housing rights; it includes a “long-term lease type” that allows for 30-year residence, and a “basic housing sale type” that is owned and sold by individuals with the land being owned and leased by the public.
Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Housing and Urban Corporation also opened a basic housing promotion centre in the Gwanggyo district of Suwon City. Along with the introduction of basic housing, the centre was also created to provide basic housing experiences through model residences and virtual reality zones.
Governor Lee (5th from left in front row) at the ‘2021 Gyeonggi Province Basic Housing Conference’ on February 25, 2021
