Analysis of Coupled and Coordinated Development of South Korea’s Life-Cycle and Public Housing Systems from 2017 to 2021

Providing sustainable public housing solutions is one of the major challenges for countries with emerging economies. Based on the panel data of eight metropolitan cities in South Korea from 2017 to 2021, this study uses the entropy value method and coupling coordination model to evaluate the quantitative interaction between the life-cycle and the public housing systems, followed by the OLS regression model to explore their level of coupling coordination and its influencing factors. The findings reveal the following: (1) The support of public housing welfare by the life cycle had previously been effective in alleviating housing conflicts. (2) The main evaluation values of the indicators had their focus shifted from the quantitative supply to the growth of households, housing cost affordability, and housing size. (3) Overall, the average level of coupling and coordination among Korean cities has risen substantially, but the development of the public housing system still lags behind the change in the life cycle of each city’s composite index. As a result, policymakers should reasonably allocate policies by focusing on their long-term benefits. (4) The supply for emerging families, infrastructure allocation, and the affordability of housing are important factors for improving the level of coordination that should be considered.