The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), and Korea Housing Finance Corporation (KHFC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at enhancing cooperation in housing finance between the United States and South Korea. The agreement, announced on June 13, 2025, focuses on expanding access to affordable housing, encouraging innovation, and supporting residential development.
The MOU is intended to facilitate cross-border investment by creating a framework for identifying and addressing obstacles to both public and private capital flows within housing finance systems. It emphasizes stable, long-term investments.
“This partnership reflects HUD’s unwavering commitment to expanding strong, affordable housing opportunities for the American people,” said HUD Secretary Scott Turner. “Working strategically with our South Korean allies, we are expanding the global understanding of American housing finance, while increasing capital flows in the United States, strengthening our domestic capital markets, and unlocking strategies to benefit American borrowers. This agreement signals that, under President Trump’s leadership, our allies are ready and willing to do business in America again.”
Korean institutional investors currently hold significant amounts of U.S. securities, including about $37 billion in Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities and Debt as well as $122 billion in U.S. Treasury securities. These figures reflect ongoing confidence in U.S. fixed-income products.
“Formalizing our partnership with KHFC through this MOU is a meaningful step in addressing housing challenges that extend across borders,” said Joseph Gormley, Principal Executive Vice President of Ginnie Mae. “Korean institutions continue to play a significant role in our capital markets, and we look forward to working together to advance a shared understanding of global capital markets and to ensure the strength of our mortgage-backed securities.”
KHFC plays an important role in South Korea's housing finance system by promoting long-term mortgage lending for low- and middle-income families. South Korea ranks among the top global investors in U.S. government securities—eighth in holdings of agency bonds and seventeenth for U.S. Treasury securities.
“It is a great privilege to sign this MOU with Ginnie Mae in the presence of the Secretary of HUD,” said KHFC President and Chief Executive Officer Kyung Hwan Kim. “This partnership marks an important step toward closer collaboration between Korea and the United States in the field of housing finance. By sharing knowledge and best practices, we hope to strengthen the resilience and inclusiveness of our respective housing finance systems. KHFC remains committed to building a more financially sustainable future for all.”
Ginnie Mae operates as a wholly government-owned corporation that brings global capital into the U.S. housing finance system to support homeownership programs administered by various federal agencies such as the Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Affairs.
KHFC is a state-owned institution with responsibilities that include supporting South Korea’s housing market through policy implementation and developing its capital market infrastructure.
