The annual income ceiling for young adults opening a Youth Housing Dream housing subscription savings account will rise to 70 million won from the current 50 million won.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on the 12th that it plans to revise the relevant public notice this month to ease the income requirement, part of an effort to widen access to housing subscription savings accounts among young adults. The step follows the Housing Stability Plan announced on Sept. 21.
Introduced in 2024 to help young adults buy a first home, the Youth Housing Dream account offers higher interest rates than the standard housing subscription savings account.
Eligibility is limited to non-homeowners aged 19 to 34 who meet the income requirement. The account pays a preferential rate of up to 4.5% a year, 1.4 percentage points above the standard housing subscription savings account. Holders also receive an income deduction on 40% of contributions, up to 3 million won a year.
The ministry said it is lowering the entry threshold in response to a steady decline in the number of subscription account holders, and plans to review additional benefits for account holders.
Why Are Younger Savers Closing Their Accounts?
The number of subscription account holders fell to 26.76 million in 2022 from 27.18 million in 2021, then to 25.97 million in 2023, 25.50 million in 2024 and 25.28 million in 2025. As of August this year, the figure had dropped to 24.93 million.
The trend is especially clear among younger savers. Data submitted by the Korea Housing & Urban Guaranty Corporation (HUG) to the office of Rep. Mo Kyoung-jong of the Democratic Party of Korea showed that through August this year, savers in their 20s closed 340,000 accounts and those in their 30s closed 410,000, for a combined 750,000. New sign-ups by the same age groups totaled just 670,000 over the period, leaving closures 80,000 higher.
Rising presale prices and the burden of financing a purchase are cited as reasons behind the weaker demand. Even savers who hold an account long enough to win a unit often cannot cover the actual purchase price, which erodes the incentive to keep the account open.
An analysis of Korea's online housing application system by Real House, a presale appraisal firm, showed the average presale price for a 59-square-meter unit in Seoul last month was 1.59343 billion won, close to 1.6 billion won. That was up 381.6 million won, or 31.5%, from 1.21183 billion won a year earlier. With mortgages in the greater Seoul area and regulated zones capped at 600 million won, a buyer borrowing the maximum would still need to come up with about 1 billion won in cash.
Government Moves to Ease Housing Costs for Young Adults
Beyond the Youth Housing Dream account, the government is easing income requirements for other programs aimed at reducing housing costs for young adults. Income requirements for the Didimdol home purchase loan and the Beotimmok lease loan, both funded by the Housing and Urban Fund, will be eased this month. Starting next year, income requirements will also be eased for the youth monthly rent support program and the program subsidizing fees for jeonse (lump-sum deposit lease) deposit return guarantees.
"We hope this change allows subscription account holders to enjoy strengthened benefits," said Kim Young-kook, head of the ministry's Housing and Land Office. "We will continue to review ways to further strengthen the benefits of subscription accounts and similar products."