SUWON — Gyeonggi Housing & Urban Development Corporation (GH) won the top prize in the regional cooperation category at the 2026 Awards for Innovation at Local Public Institutions, held on Sept. 29 at the Korea Research Institute for Local Public Enterprises in Seoul's Seocho District.
The awards were organized by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Korea Research Institute for Local Public Enterprises. The event identifies and promotes standout cases of local public institutions that have addressed regional issues and improved public services.
GH was recognized for what it described as the country's first shared-equity presale housing model, aimed at helping people who do not own a home climb the housing ladder. The award cited the agency for offering a new form of public presale housing that allows young adults and newlyweds without a home to buy one with relatively little money upfront.
Under the shared-equity model, buyers first acquire a 10% to 25% stake in the presale price and move in. They then purchase the remaining stake in stages over 20 to 30 years until they secure full ownership. The structure lowers the initial burden while helping buyers build assets over the long term.
GH also pushed for regulatory changes in finance, taxation and housing applications to make the program workable. Based on a legal interpretation from the Financial Services Commission, it laid the groundwork for developing dedicated loan products, and it also secured measures to reduce corporate tax and property-holding tax burdens.
Application criteria were revised to focus on owner-occupier buyers. Young adults and households with newborns were added to the special supply category, improving access for groups vulnerable in the housing market. The significance lies in building the institutional foundation, not simply expanding supply.
The government's fast-track housing supply plan, announced in August, also helped spread the GH model. With about 15% of public presale housing to be supplied through shared-equity and profit-sharing arrangements, the model GH pursued has been scaled up into a key instrument of national housing policy.
The country's first shared-equity presale complex is planned for Block A17 in Suwon's Gwanggyo area. Of 600 total units, 240 will use the shared-equity method. Views from GH Home Editor, a participation group of Gyeonggi Province residents, were reflected in the design process to improve satisfaction for those who will live there.
"This award recognizes our efforts to pioneer a new public housing model and system to help buyers who do not own a home become owner-occupiers," GH President Kim Yong-jin said.
"Now that shared-equity housing has become established as national housing policy, we will strengthen our ability to carry out the project and lead efforts to stabilize housing for low- and middle-income households and improve housing welfare," Kim added.
