The government has announced the relocation of 10,000 public officials to Sejong. Home prices have already begun to climb, yet not a single new apartment unit is scheduled for occupancy next year.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said on the 20th that it had finalized a second-phase plan to move 44 central government agencies to Sejong. Next year, 27 agencies with 2,995 employees, including the Korea Media and Communications Commission, will relocate first using leased office space, while 17 agencies with 6,934 employees that require their own buildings will move in stages after new offices are built by 2031.
Sejong's property market has heated up rapidly since the announcement. An 84-square-meter unit at the Narijae 6 complex in Naseong-dong recently traded at 1.09 billion won ($760,000), a record high and 70 million won above the previous sale. An 84-square-meter unit at Saetteum 13 in Saerom-dong rose 20 million won, and a 59-square-meter unit at Gaon 9 in Dajeong-dong gained 30 million won.
Sejong apartment sale prices turned higher in the second week of October, rising 0.02%. The Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements said the consumer sentiment index for Sejong's housing sales market stood at 125.3 in September, the second highest in the country. That was up 23.8 points from 101.5 in July.
Zero New Apartment Completions as Jeonse Prices Climb
The problem is that housing supply is not keeping pace with demand. According to the Korea Real Estate Board and Real Estate R114, no multifamily housing units in complexes of 30 or more are scheduled for occupancy in Sejong next year. Sejong is the only metropolitan-level jurisdiction in the country with no scheduled completions at all.
Completions this year totaled just 42 units, and unsold homes stood at 43 units as of the end of August, effectively exhausting the inventory. The next complexes due for occupancy are Elif Sejong Smart City (424 units) in February 2028 and Sejong 5-1 Yangwoo Naeanae Aspen (698 units) in March of the same year, bringing scheduled supply through the first half of 2028 to only 1,122 units.
The rental market has also frozen. Data from the property analytics platform Asil showed that jeonse (a lump-sum deposit lease) and monthly-rent listings for Sejong apartments have plunged to about 500 from roughly 1,700 two years ago. Jeonse prices for Sejong apartments rose 0.24% in the second week of October, more than double the 0.11% gain of the previous week. The cumulative increase this year reached 4.71%, surpassing the 2.65% recorded in the same period last year. The consumer sentiment index for Sejong's jeonse market also climbed to 125.0 in September, overtaking Seoul for the top spot nationwide.
The central government and the Sejong city government are reviewing moving-cost and relocation subsidies as well as temporary transportation support to help relocating officials with housing. A possible resumption of special housing allocations for public officials, suspended in 2021 amid criticism that they amounted to preferential treatment, is also under discussion.
Sejong plans to approve housing construction plans for eight blocks in the fifth living zone, including Hapgang-dong and Dasom-dong, covering 3,549 units, by next month. In November, Sejong Smart City L Soojain (2,316 units) will go on presale in the smart city pilot district of living zone 5-1. Industrial foundations are also strengthening, with Samsung Electro-Mechanics confirming a 4.27 trillion won investment in its Sejong plant, which is expected to add to demand pressure.