HF Successfully Holds the 2019 Housing Finance Conference 

- Experts from home and abroad discuss the future development directions and prospects of housing finance 

Korea Housing Finance Corporation (HF, CEO Lee Jung-Hwan) announced on June 20 that it successfully held the 2019 Housing Finance Conference at the headquarters of Busan Bank in Munhyeongeumyung-ro, Busan.      

During the conference held to explore the directions for developing housing finance, Deborah Lucas, Sloan Distinguished Professor of Finance at MIT's Sloan School of Management delivered the keynote speech, and renowned housing finance and housing market experts and professionals from home and abroad gave presentations, sharing their various views and opinions. The conference was attended by some 350 participants. These included Kim Tae-Hyun, Standing Commissioner of the Financial Services Commission; Yoo Jae-Soo, Deputy Mayor of Economic Development of Busan Metropolitan City; other related public officers; as well as college students and ordinary citizens. These participants brought extra energy and enthusiasm to the platform of already heated discussions.  

Opening the conference with her keynote speech entitled “The Role of the Public Sector in the Reverse Mortgage and Mortgage Market”, Professor Deborah Lucas shared the cases and policy experiences of the U.S. housing finance system. In the speech, she said, “After the 2008 financial crisis, the U.S. housing finance market has shown the symptoms of imbalance between the private and public sectors. I hope that South Korea’s public housing finance focuses on stronger financial assistance for low-income and underprivileged groups in a proper partnership with the private sector.”  

Professor Cho Man of the KDI School of Public Policy and Management gave the following presentation entitled “Establishment of Housing Finance Policies from the Perspective of Financial Stability and Integration”. In his presentation, he stressed the need to ▲ expand financial inclusion, ▲ enhance financial stability, and ▲ improve the efficiency of the financial system. In particular, he said, “Under the current real estate regulatory framework, the current loan to value (LTV) ratio needs to be adjusted upwards to a limited extent for indebted real-need households that spend 40% or more of their net disposable income on debt servicing.” He then called for an expansion of financial inclusiveness through products customized to individual financial consumers.   

In the session entitled ‘Diagnosis of the 2019 Housing Market: Current Issues and Prospects,’ the current status of and changes in the housing market were reviewed, and the subsequent role of housing finance was explored. Huh Yoon-Gyeong, Department Manager of the Construction and Economy Research Institute of Korea, said, “In response to the short-term change of widening regional gaps in the housing market, housing finance services should be offered in a form customized to each phase of the life cycle and each income level.” On the same topic, Professor Seo Jeong-Yeol from the Graduate School of Real Estate at Youngsan University suggested that, with the housing market correction expected to intensify in the Busan-Gyeongnam area, the central government and the local government should join forces to draft policies that reflect the different needs of the region and its residential sub-areas. 

The thematic presentations were followed by an in-depth panel discussion presided over by Professor Gang Jeong-Gyu of the Graduate School of Real Estate at Dong-Eui University. The discussion was joined by Kim Gang-Hoi, Head of the Urban Balance and Regeneration Department of Busan Metropolitan City; Lee Ju-Hyeon, CEO of Wolcheon Jaetech; and Bang Song-Hee, HF Researcher. During the discussion, they shared their insights and views on the pressing issues and prospects of the housing market. The ordinary citizens attending the conference added extra energy and enthusiasm with their various questions, welcoming the event that promotes the development of the regional economy and shared growth. 

An HF officer said, “Various suggestions made at this Housing Finance Conference will be greatly helpful for our policy and practical efforts to seek the future development directions of the public housing finance system.” 

<Image Description>

HF CEO Lee Jung-Hwan delivers his opening remarks at the 2019 Housing Finance Conference held at the headquarters of Busan Bank in Munhyeongeumyung-ro, Busan, on the 20th.