토지공사·주택공사 통합논의 소고

Both Korea Land Corporation(KLC) and Korea National Housing Corporation(KNHC) have performed their missions relatively well since their establishment as government-controlled companies. As the need for government-led land and housing development has become less important and the autonomy of local governments has been strengthened, however, it is expected that their significance will be reduced. Moreover, public confidence in KLC and KNHC has become greatly weakened in the wake of hikes in land prices and the resulting widened gap between the haves and the have-nots. Thus, the large-scale restructuring of both companies in terms of manpower and the scope of businesses will be a necessary choice in order to regain public confidence. The issue of restructuring can be examined in light of the following criteria. The first criterion is the future direction of government land and housing development policy. The second is what the optimal alternative for efficient - welfare-enhancing - implementation of government policy goals should be. Third, restructuring must maximize the job efficiency of both companies in terms of the quality of services to the people. Fourth, it must pursue managerial efficiency in order to produce surplus, given that both companies are supported partly by the tax revenue. Fifth, the shareholders and employees of both companies should be fairly treated in the process of restructuring efforts, and the chosen restructuring plan should be publicly acceptable. The sixth one is how to comp up with a sustainable restructuring plan to prevent repeated failures in the past. Seventh, we should reach a national consensus on the desirable role of both companies. To put it differently, should both companies be like profit-oriented private companies? Or, should they be public companies which barely meet the balance sheet? Or, should they focus exclusively on enhancing public welfare with government financial support, and is it no problem to disregard managerial efficiency? Based on the above-mentioned discussion, the best option is for both KLC and KNHC to perform more specified missions with their own specialties after restructuring which is reasonable and acceptable. The specified missions of KLC include housing land development in Multi-functional Administrative City, the role as a land bank for stabilization in land prices, the role of a clearing house for land markets, and land development in North Korea. KNHC should focus on carrying out popular rental housing projects and accompanying housing land development, installment housing projects for low-income families, and city rejuvenation projects.