1. Research goals and methods

￮ As part of the nation’s housing welfare initiative, the central government has increased its efforts to provide public rental housing to low-income residents. 

However, the current demand is exceeding the housing supply, and young people are often overlooked during the development of public rental housing policies. 

￮ Young people nationwide continue to migrate to the Seoul Capital Area, with a higher proportion of young people leaving Jeonbuk for the metropolitan area than from other regions.

￮ For young adults, housing policies constitute the second-highest priority, next to job creation policies, indicating that many experience housing instability.

￮ Given that Jeonbuk has attracted many foreign migrant workers to address labor shortages in agriculture, the region must focus on providing good quality housing to ensure stable living conditions and improve productivity.

￮ The social economy has become an important network for resolving housing-related problems between demand classes across private and public rental housing. Against this backdrop, we investigated options for expanding the supply of Jeonbuk-specific social housing.

￮ We reviewed relevant studies and policy reports to gain a holistic understanding of social housing. We then secured and analyzed social housing supply data to systematize the characteristics of social housing provision by region, type, and supplier.

￮ Leveraging various case studies on social housing, we ascertained specific features of social housing in Jeonbuk, examined the supply and operation of social housing in other regions, and explored issues inherent in a housing supply project.

￮ Lastly, we created a social housing roadmap based on practical advice from social housing suppliers and policy advice from policymakers and experts.

2. Conclusions and policy recommendations

￮ “Jeonbuk-specific social housing” is defined as social housing that capitalizes on the assets and resources in Jeonbuk to showcase the unique features of the region. However, considering that little leeway is allowed in the social housing sector, we broadly defined it as social housing developed in consideration of Jeonbuk’s competitive edge, such as region-specific strengths and resources.

￮ The Jeonbuk-specific social housing project is unique given the involvement of Jeonbuk Development Corporation as a social housing supplier and the focus on foreign agricultural workers and young people.

￮ All concerned parties need to draw on their experience in social housing to develop effective solutions for securing stable housing for young people and foreign workers while promoting the role of social economy entities. This process will lay the foundation for facilitating the provision of social housing and cultivating collaboration among stakeholders.

￮ Effective and viable action plans include the following social housing subprojects: 1) a “public land leasing project” that leverages public lands owned by Jeonbuk and its cities and counties to provide social housing, 2) a “revitalizing empty houses project” that redevelops vacant houses into affordable residential spaces while tackling social problems these houses have caused, and 3) a “social housing for foreign workers project” that promotes stable living spaces for foreign workers.

￮ The following subprojects should be pursued to further streamline the process of expanding the supply of social housing: 1) establishing a social housing support center for business planning, education, consulting, and information provision services; 2) enacting an ordinance as a legal basis to help revitalize social housing; 3) operating a fund to financially support the social housing project; and 4) building a social housing information system that manages and provides a wide range of data and information.

￮ To foster key suppliers and operators for the social housing project, the local government must educate social economy entities to reinforce their competencies, provide supporting programs for effective operation and management of the entire process, and create comprehensive housing welfare networks to promote seamless interactions and cooperation between the parties involved.

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