President Lee Jae-myung has ordered a review of "raw-land sales" to shorten housing supply timelines, but the Special Act on Public Housing, the law governing third-phase new towns, contains no provision for supplying raw land at all. Because the law must be amended first and the method is difficult to apply to existing third-phase new towns where site preparation and construction are already under way, officials say it is a card that can be used only for the later third-phase new towns still at the district planning and compensation stage.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korea Land & Housing Corporation on the 25th, the ministry is reviewing ways to introduce the method in public housing land districts following the president's order to examine raw-land sales to speed up housing supply. Raw-land sales involve supplying land on which site preparation has not been completed to developers, who then develop it themselves. Normally LH prepares the land before supplying it to construction firms, which then level the site again before building apartments. Eliminating the overlapping work in this process can shorten project timelines. On the 20th, at the Incheon Gyeyang third-phase new town site, Lee called for a fundamental review, saying raw-land sales could substantially cut supply timelines.
Introducing or expanding raw-land sales requires first revising the relevant legislation. The Urban Development Act, the Special Act on the Construction of the Multifunctional Administrative City, the Industrial Sites Act and the Saemangeum Project Act all provide a basis for supplying raw land, but the Special Act on Public Housing, which governs public housing districts including third-phase new towns, has no such provision. Article 32 of the Special Act on Public Housing instead stipulates the "supply of prepared land," which the ministry judges means a separate legal basis for supplying raw land must be established. "Raw-land sales are regarded as effective in industrial complexes, and I understand there are some actual cases," a ministry official said. "There are no cases yet for public housing land, and pursuing it would require amending the Special Act on Public Housing."
If a raw-land provision is newly added to the Special Act on Public Housing, it will likely follow the Urban Development Act's rules. That act limits the area of raw land to no more than one-third of an entire district. The supply price is set based on the appraised value plus the cost of infrastructure work installed by the developer. Businesses that receive raw land cannot resell it for up to 10 years.
Another variable is that raw-land sales conflict with the policy of direct development by LH. In last year's Sept. 7 measures, the government shifted toward having LH develop public housing land directly rather than selling it to the private sector. "Direct development by LH is the principle for public housing land, so there is an aspect that conflicts with raw-land sales," a ministry official said, acknowledging that further review is needed.
Even if it is introduced, the areas where it can be applied are expected to be limited. For now, existing third-phase new towns, including Incheon Gyeyang as mentioned by the president, are likely to be excluded from raw-land supply. In blocks where site preparation has largely progressed or apartment construction has begun, the stages that raw-land supply could cut have already passed. In Incheon Gyeyang, 1,285 households will move in during December, the first among the third-phase new towns, and of the 124,000 public housing units in the third-phase new towns, 39,000 units, or 31.5%, will have broken ground by the end of this year. "It could be applied to other public housing districts in the third-phase new towns where compensation is still under way," an LH official said, adding that "districts where preparation work has already started may be difficult to apply it to."
As a result, Seocho Seoripul, Goyang Daegok and Uiwang Ojeon-Wanggok are being mentioned as candidate sites for raw-land sales. In November 2024, the government announced roughly 50,000 units of new housing land, including Seocho Seoripul in Seoul (20,000 units), the Goyang Daegok Station area (9,400 units), Uiwang Ojeon-Wanggok (14,000 units) and Uijeongbu Yonghyeon (7,000 units), and said it would "pursue partial raw-land supply if necessary." Among these, Goyang Daegok and Uiwang Ojeon-Wanggok completed district designation on the 22nd of last month and are now drawing up district plans. The target for starting housing construction is 2029. "It is hard to give a definite answer at the district planning stage, but we are preparing in line with what was announced," an LH official said.
The industry is for now taking a wait-and-see stance on discussions between the government and LH. "Raw-land sales can help shorten supply timelines because they reduce overlapping stages and allow site preparation to proceed alongside construction and design work," an official at a major construction firm said. "But the effect can differ depending on ground conditions, the state of infrastructure development and permit procedures, so we have no choice but to approach it cautiously."