Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), which spearheads the government's housing supply policy, is expected to undertake a sweeping reshuffle of its executive ranks under its new head. President Lee Sung-hoon, who is currently receiving work briefings from each division, is expected to carry out personnel changes by collecting resignation letters from all standing directors before deciding whether to reappoint them. The move is interpreted as a strategy to renew the organizational atmosphere while accelerating housing supply policy.
According to related industry sources on the 26th, LH plans to proceed with standing director appointments soon. Six standing directors, excluding President Lee Sung-hoon, are expected to be significantly replaced. Observers say there is a high possibility that they will all be replaced with new figures.
Excluding the vacant vice president position, the standing audit committee member and four division heads (head of the Residential Welfare Division, head of the Land and Urban Division, head of the Public Housing Division, and head of the Management Division) were all appointed under the previous administration. Three of them, excluding Management Division Head Kim Jae-kyung, along with Standing Audit Committee Member Lee Beom-rae, have already completed their statutory terms and are subject to replacement.
The standing audit committee member, appointed by the president, goes through a process of recommendation by the executive recommendation committee, resolution by the public institution management committee, nomination by the minister of the relevant ministry, and presidential appointment. In contrast, standing directors holding division head positions are appointed directly by President Lee. Within LH, the possibility of a full replacement of standing directors is seen as high. This is because President Lee will appoint new figures for the vice president and four division head positions, and the standing audit committee member is also likely to be replaced later.
A method under discussion is for the new president to collect resignation letters from all directors and then decide whether to reappoint them, in order to strengthen his grip on the organization and secure momentum for policy implementation. An LH official said, "The standing directors were appointed under the previous administration and most have completed their terms, but new appointments could not be made due to the vacancy in the president's post," adding, "Personnel changes will take place as soon as the president finishes grasping his duties."
The non-standing director lineup has already been completed. LH has newly organized its board this year by replacing seven of its eight non-standing directors. The remaining task is the standing director appointments, and once these are completed, the new management system will be finalized.
LH plans to add speed to the government's housing supply policy through responsible decision-making resulting from this reshuffle. LH is a key institution that carries out most of the government's housing supply policy at the working level, including public land development such as third-phase new towns, the supply of public-sale and public-rental housing, purchase-and-rent of newly built units, and urban public housing projects. The success or failure of the government's ongoing supply expansion policy also inevitably hinges on LH's project implementation. The decline in supply due to a shortage of construction starts over the past several years has been causing instability in the recent real estate market. Since LH directly implements or plays a central role in leading supply, analysts say that organizational stability and the reorganization of the decision-making system are more important than anything else.
The industry expects that once the new management is formed, decision-making on major projects will be normalized and policy cooperation with the government will also be strengthened. A real estate industry official said, "Expanding housing supply is ultimately a task that can only be achieved when backed by LH's execution capability," adding, "If the new president reorganizes the organization and forms a new management team, major supply projects are also likely to gain speed."
