South Korea’s Public Housing Giant Looks to Wood
South Korea’s Land and Housing Corporation (LH), which builds tens of thousands of homes each year, is rethinking the materials it uses. A new report argues that timber construction should become central to the country’s effort to hit its 2050 carbon neutrality target.
The study, Strategies for Applying Wood Construction in LH Apartment Complexes to Realize Carbon-Neutral Communities , makes a blunt point: the construction industry produces more than 40% of global CO₂ emissions, thanks largely to concrete and steel. Timber, by contrast, emits less, locks in carbon, and can be assembled faster when paired with off-site construction (OSC).
The idea is already moving from theory to practice. Hyundai Engineering & Construction has teamed up with Space Factory, South Korea’s largest modular timber manufacturer, to bring prefab timber elements into apartment complexes. Rather than start with entire buildings, they will supply daycare centres, bicycle storage, and community facilities. Space Factory’s new 50,000m² automated plant in Pyeongtaek, the biggest of its kind in the country, can churn out 1,280 homes a year—evidence that industrialized timber is no longer a cottage industry.
GS Engineering & Construction (GS E&C), another chaebol builder, has also set up a wood-focused prefabrication subsidiary, XiGESIT. The firm hopes to cut construction times by 30% with its new automated plant, and is trying to shake off the perception that “factory-built” means cheap and temporary. Its sample homes near Seoul and Busan scored highly for airtightness, soundproofing and energy efficiency, while a demo house in Changwon, targeted at middle-income buyers. GS E&C sees eco-friendly prefab housing not as a niche, but as a “new paradigm” for Korea’s housing culture.
For LH, the implications are clear. Alongside modular systems, it is weighing the adoption of wood infill wall systems—promoted for years by Canada Wood Korea—and mass timber products such as CLT and NLT for floor assemblies. Such technologies could gradually shift Korea’s housing stock away from its heavy reliance on steel and concrete.
LH says it will test these methods in redevelopments, renovations and new community-scale projects. As South Korea’s public housing authority adapts its mandate, Canada Wood Korea plans to work with LH to ensure Canadian timber plays a visible role in the transition. As South Korea pushes to square its housing needs with its carbon goals, the shift toward timber may come to be seen not just as a construction choice, but as part of a broader economic and cultural transition.
