SUWON — Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae met Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Hong Ji-sun on the 2nd and proposed a shift in housing supply policy. Rather than simply increasing the volume of new homes, she called for a "Gyeonggi-style housing supply strategy" that designs industry, jobs, transportation and housing together.
At the meeting, held in the afternoon at the National Land Development Exhibition Hall in Seoul, Choo said the center of gravity for industry in the greater Seoul area is shifting to Gyeonggi Province. Urban planning and housing policy must reflect that changed industrial structure and the resulting flow of employment, she said.
"A pattern keeps repeating in which Gyeonggi Province absorbs the burden of new housing sites created by rising home prices in Seoul," Choo said. "The province has had little room to pursue policies that improve residents' quality of life based on its own vision for its cities."
Choo pointed in particular to the mismatch between jobs and housing as the core problem. With jobs concentrated in Seoul and housing concentrated in Gyeonggi Province, long commutes and traffic congestion have worsened, she said. "Policies that have been handled separately need to be discussed together and connected," she said.
The province put forward four models. An "industry-linked" model would connect industrial hubs such as semiconductor sites with nearby residential areas. An "R&D-and-campus" model would combine universities, companies and research facilities with housing for young adults. A "self-sufficient new town" model would plan housing, jobs and daily services together from the outset. A "transit-hub mixed-use development" model would build up wide-area transportation nodes such as GTX stations as city centers.
"Gyeonggi Province is already a core base for future advanced industries," Choo said. "The K-semiconductor industrial belt should be linked with housing, and policies for jobs and housing for young adults should be designed together." She added, "We need the authority and institutional support to lead housing supply with an urban vision suited to the characteristics of each area."
Hong expressed agreement with the province's concerns. "I am well aware of how important jobs and self-sufficient functions are for Gyeonggi Province," Hong said, according to the province. "We will form a working-level consultative body to keep hearing the province's views and will review as many of them as possible for adoption."
Behind the proposal lies a gap between industrial growth and housing supply. According to the province, the number of workers in knowledge-based manufacturing in the greater Seoul area rose by 42,000 between 2014 and 2024, with 86% of that increase occurring in Gyeonggi Province. Industry and jobs have grown quickly across the province, but housing and transportation infrastructure have not kept pace, the province said.
The province also proposed regulatory changes. It asked that the governor's authority to select and allocate tenants be expanded so that public rental housing matching demand from young adults, newlyweds and workers can be supplied near industrial hubs. It said the province's role should also be expanded in designating public housing districts and drawing up district plans.
To develop advanced industry hubs, the province proposed easing the ceiling on industrial zones in areas subject to overconcentration controls. It also called for broader authority to lift greenbelt designations so that residential, office and commercial functions can be developed together around major transit hubs.
On transportation, the province argued that wide-area transportation plans should be linked from the stage at which public housing districts are designated. It also proposed exempting essential wide-area transportation facilities from preliminary feasibility studies to narrow the gap between move-in dates and the delivery of transportation infrastructure.
Gyeonggi Province said it will cooperate with the central government's push to expand housing supply in the greater Seoul area while developing an urban strategy that goes beyond simply increasing the number of homes. It plans to form a working-level consultative body with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to continue discussing the transfer of authority and regulatory improvements.
