Gov't Revamps Failing Housing Policy

The government has decided to tighten controls and build more apartments at the same time after anti-speculation measures backfired and kept apartment prices in parts of Seoul soaring.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Monday designated four more "speculative" districts in Seoul -- Dongdaemun, Dongjak, Jongno and Jung -- in an effort to cool down burgeoning prices there.

The ministry also designated the Gyeonggi provincial cities of Gwangmyeong, Guri and Hanam as areas that need monitoring for speculation.

Last year, the government restricted apartment purchases in Seoul and some parts of Gyeonggi Province, Busan, Daegu and Sejong in an effort to weed out rampant speculation in a time of zero interest rates.

These areas are subject to stricter regulations on housing taxes and loans, and their number has now increased to 41, including all 25 districts in Seoul.

In order to stop prices from soaring because there is not enough supply, the ministry also announced a new policy to build more apartments. It plans to develop 30 new public housing lots in the Seoul metropolitan area to build 300,000 new apartments.

This will bring the total number of apartments the ministry has promised to build to 362,000 on a total of 44 public housing sites.