The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on the 20th that it plans to designate and announce the Dongja-dong jjokbang district in Seoul's Yongsan Ward as a public housing zone the following day. Jjokbang are tiny single rooms, often smaller than 10 square meters, that house the city's poorest residents. A public housing project for the area was first announced in 2021 but had not even reached the designation stage because of opposition from landowners. The designation is expected to accelerate redevelopment of the district.
The ministry plans to supply 2,150 homes in the area, including 1,000 public rental units and 1,150 units for sale. The Dongja-dong site sits next to Seoul Station in a central location crowded with major office and commercial facilities. Aging buildings are densely packed there, making improvements to living conditions urgent.
The ministry plans to break ground in 2029 and complete construction for move-in by 2032, after drawing up a district plan and carrying out compensation and relocation procedures. Current jjokbang residents will receive priority in public rental units of at least 21 square meters, each equipped with cooking facilities, a bathroom and toilet, and heating and cooling.
The government is also pursuing rule changes to broaden private-sector participation and strengthen compensation for landowners. Private construction firms will be allowed to join public housing projects as co-developers, combining the public sector's project management capacity with private-sector construction expertise.
To protect existing residents' property rights, the government plans to extend benefits such as the long-term residence special deduction to single-household owners who transfer their sole in-kind compensation right to buy a unit, and to allow in-kind compensation status to be inherited once. For residents who cannot afford their share of the costs, an option to receive profit-sharing housing as in-kind compensation is set to be introduced next month.
"With this designation, the Dongja-dong project has entered a concrete implementation phase, so it is important to carry out the follow-up procedures without disruption," said Lee Jae-pyung, director general for housing supply policy at the ministry. "We will support the stable resettlement of jjokbang residents, fully gather the views of the residents' consultative body and work with relevant agencies to push the project forward."