Land Minister Nominee Pledges Faster Housing Supply as Seoul-Area Prices Rise

South Korea’s nominee for land, infrastructure and transport minister pledged Wednesday to accelerate housing supply as rising prices in the Seoul metropolitan area intensify public concern about affordability and market stability.

Hong Jee-sun told a parliamentary confirmation hearing that he would mobilize resources from both the public and private sectors until enough homes are available in the areas where people most want to live. His remarks placed supply expansion at the center of his proposed response to the housing market.

The nominee also identified administrative bottlenecks as a practical obstacle to faster delivery. Drawing on his experience in local government, Hong said he would work to resolve delays in permits and approvals and improve the implementation of housing policy on the ground. That focus covers a critical stage between announcing supply targets and completing homes that residents can actually occupy.

Hong’s pledge comes as households closely watch home prices across Seoul and the surrounding metropolitan region. His testimony indicated that the prospective ministry leadership would seek to combine public-sector capacity with private development rather than rely on a single channel for new supply. The effectiveness of that approach would depend on whether central and local authorities can shorten project timelines while maintaining the required review process.

Housing assistance was another part of Hong’s stated agenda. He promised stronger support for young people and newly married couples, two groups that often face high barriers to entering the housing market. He also called for greater protection for senior citizens and people harmed by rental deposit fraud. The commitments suggest that his policy approach would pair supply measures with targeted support for households facing particular financial or tenancy risks.

Beyond the capital region, Hong described balanced regional development as a matter of national survival. He said the government would support large-scale projects designed to create advanced industrial hubs outside the Seoul metropolitan area. Such projects would link housing and infrastructure policy with efforts to distribute jobs and investment more broadly across the country.

The confirmation process will determine whether Hong takes charge of the ministry responsible for housing, transport and major infrastructure. If confirmed, he would face the immediate task of turning the broad commitments made at the hearing into detailed measures, including steps to coordinate public and private supply, remove implementation delays and deliver assistance to groups most exposed to housing insecurity.