This site in the Segyo area of Osan, Gyeonggi Province, will see the construction of a new town with 31,000 homes for workers in Korea's mega chip cluster around Hwaseong, Yongin and Pyeongtaek in southern Gyeonggi Province, according to the land ministry, Wednesday. Yonhap

The government has chosen five sites nationwide to build new towns to house workers in Korea's key semiconductor clusters, the land ministry said Wednesday. The measure is also aimed at achieving balanced regional development by building around 80,000 new homes outside the greater Seoul area.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said it selected Yongin, Guri, and Osan in Gyeonggi Province, as well as Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, and Jeju Island as locations for the new towns.

"The ministry selected regions with the highest housing demands in the country and the biggest potential for balanced growth of the economy and community," the ministry said in a statement.

One of the new sites is the Segyo area of Osan, Gyeonggi Province. Around 31,000 housing units will be built in that area, which is the center of the country's strategic mega chip cluster around Hwaseong, Yongin and Pyeongtaek in southern Gyeonggi Province. It is the biggest in size among the new sites.

New Segyo will also contain new homes for workers in 10 neighboring industrial complexes, including Gajang in Osan, Jeongnam in Hwaseong and Seotan and Jinwi in Pyeongtaek. Segyo is also in the vicinity of a new KTX high-speed train station scheduled for completion in 2025 and a new GTX train station that covers the country's capital region.

Edong in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, is another new area that will contain new homes for IT workers in the Korean semiconductor industry. About 16,000 housing units will be built in the region where the government announced last March the construction of a new industrial complex to manufacture cutting-edge semiconductors.

First Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Oh-jin announces the constructinon of five new towns containing a total of 80,000 housing units, at the ministry's headquarters in Sejong, Wednesday. Courtesy of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

The Bunpyeong area of Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, will also see the construction of 9,000 new housing units as a new industrial complex and new foundries are under construction in the Osong area of the same city. The fact that the city has been seeing a rising population also demonstrates the need for a new residential town, according to the government.

The Topyeong area of Guri, Gyeonggi Province, will be the site of 18,500 new housing units and 5,500 new units will be built in the Hwabuk area of Jeju Island, as part of the ministry's new housing project.

Guri, located just east of the capital, has seen a rising number of Seoul residents moving in and there is a surging demand for new homes. Hwabuk used to be the main entrance to the southern resort island from the mainland.

With the island's population increasing by 15 percent over the past decade, the construction of a new residential town in Hwabuk is expected to boost the supply of homes, according to the government.

The new residential towns will each have a park accounting for up to 30 percent of the whole area. To counter the country's low-birth problem, each town will have a daycare cluster consisting of child care centers, libraries, hospitals, cram schools and cafes.

Prior to announcing the new towns, the ministry held discussions with local governments to maximize the results. The government will finalize the designations of the new towns by 2025, obtain overall planning approved by 2026 and authorize the first housing construction projects by 2027.

This is the third housing project announced by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. The administration has announced the construction of 165,000 new housing units since last year.