South Korea Pledges 230,000 Homes to Curb Seoul Price Rally

The Government of South Korea announced a comprehensive housing supply initiative on August 13, 2026, to combat a persistent property price rally in the Greater Seoul area. The plan pledges over 230,000 new homes in the capital region, including 100,000 units on newly designated sites, as part of a broader goal to provide 1.35 million homes by 2030. To accelerate delivery, the government is implementing a fast-track construction model intended to reduce the timeline from site announcement to groundbreaking from 68 to 37 months.

To support these efforts and assist young homebuyers, the Financial Services Commission will increase policy support for construction project financing to at least 47.8 trillion won, up from 26.3 trillion won. The government also doubled its annual household-debt growth target from 1.5% to 3% and introduced new policy loans for primary residences for newlyweds and young people, while maintaining restrictions on speculative demand.

These measures follow 79 consecutive weekly increases in Seoul apartment prices as of August 3. The housing crisis has contributed to declining approval ratings for President Lee Jae Myung, particularly among students and youth. The persistent price gains may also prompt the Bank of Korea to maintain a tightening monetary policy to mitigate financial-stability risks.