LH provided employee housing loans exceeding government limits

The Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) has been found to be providing housing loans to its employees that exceed government-mandated limits and offer more favorable terms than standard regulations.

According to data submitted to the National Assembly by Representative Kim Mi-ae, LH issued approximately 82.9 billion won in new housing loans to employees between 2021 and August 2024. While the Ministry of Economy and Finance guidelines cap public institution housing loans at 70 million won per person, LH employees can receive up to 140 million won for rental deposits in metropolitan areas by including additional support for children.

Furthermore, LH's interest rates for rental loans, set at 3.28%, are lower than the Bank of Korea's reported household loan rate of 4.46%. For home purchases, LH does not apply Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratios as required by government guidelines, instead allowing employees to choose between guarantee insurance or establishing a mortgage. LH stated that changes to loan limits and rates require labor union consent and noted that they are working to improve standards while requesting that the government consider the practicalities of their nationwide rotation system.