Housing Crises and Policy Transformations in South Korea

South Korea has witnessed remarkable economic development since the 1960s. Its economic growth rate has few parallels. However, behind this facade of growth and progress, a chronic housing shortage in the capital region, declining owner-occupation, rising housing costs, and polarisation in housing conditions between the better-off and the worse-off clearly illustrate the increasing impasse and crisis in housing that Korea has faced. The Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s and the more recent global financial crisis shocked the Korean housing market. Immediately after each crisis, the housing market experienced a serious recession and a sharp drop in prices. This paper addresses the seriousness of the impact of the financial crises on Korean housing conditions and how the Korean government reacted to the housing crises. It also discusses the benchmarks over the years and how pressing exigencies in the last decade have led to dramatic transformations in housing policy.Housing crisis, financial crisis, policy transformation, South Korea,