Kim Yi-tak, the First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, announced plans to expand policy support for modular housing. The government aims to increase the issuance of modular public housing units to 20,000 by 2030 and plans to provide 3.5 million won ($3,500) per unit to alleviate the higher construction costs compared to traditional methods.
On the afternoon of October 27, Kim held a meeting at the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) in Seoul with representatives from LH, the Gyeonggi Housing and Urban Corporation (GH), the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, and industry stakeholders to discuss the promotion of modular housing.
During the meeting, Kim stated, "Modular housing is the key to addressing challenges such as declining productivity, workforce structure, and safety management faced by the construction industry," emphasizing the government's commitment to support.
He added, "The public sector must play a leading role in revitalizing the modular housing market through the seamless implementation of the August 13 measures," and assured that the government would spare no effort in providing necessary policy support to resolve industry difficulties.
This meeting was convened to review the progress and future plans of the support measures for revitalizing the modular housing ecosystem, which were included in the government's 'Rapid Housing Supply Plan' announced on August 13.
The government plans to increase the issuance of modular public housing units from the previous target of 12,000 to 20,000 from next year until 2030. Additionally, a pilot project for high-rise modular housing of 20 stories or more will also be pursued.
The modular construction method involves manufacturing key structural components and facilities in a factory and assembling them on-site. This approach allows for concurrent factory production and on-site work, potentially reducing construction time by 20-30% compared to traditional methods. It is also expected to improve quality control, reduce on-site labor, and prevent safety accidents.
However, the approximately 30% higher construction costs compared to traditional methods are seen as a barrier to wider adoption. To address this, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to provide 3.5 million won per unit to cover the additional costs incurred during the public housing construction process.
Furthermore, the ministry will pursue the enactment of a separate special law reflecting the characteristics of modular housing and will establish related exceptions and incentives.
During the meeting, academic representatives explained the progress of pilot projects for high-rise modular housing complexes and industry trends. LH, GH, the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, and industry stakeholders shared their plans for public housing issuance and conveyed challenges faced during the project processes.
Earlier, LH announced on October 21 that it plans to issue 16,000 modular housing units by 2030 to accelerate housing supply. This year's issuance target has also been expanded from the initial goal of 2,000 units to approximately 2,100 units.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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