Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon pushed back against opposition criticism of his housing supply record, saying the seeds he planted during his first term grew into stems under former Mayor Park Won-soon but were later cut off at the roots when redevelopment zones were cancelled. Because redevelopment projects span many years, he argued, the decline in supply during his second term was also shaped by his predecessor's policies.
At a parliamentary audit of the Seoul Metropolitan Government held by the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee at City Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 19th, Rep. Jang Jong-tae of the Democratic Party of Korea criticized Oh's decision in February last year to lift land transaction permit requirements for 291 apartment complexes in the Jamsil, Samsung, Daechi and Cheongdam areas. "In the 35 days after the lifting, transactions tripled and the transaction value rose by 5 trillion won," Jang said. "Calling this a 'happening' to play it down is itself a declaration of a hollow victory, isn't it?" The remark turned back on Oh his own description of the president's comments on housing policy as a "hollow victory."
Oh responded that in December 2024, the housing market was in a slump and major banks were publishing research reports calling for a policy response. "You framed the question as if I lifted the restrictions when the property market was already moving and heading upward, but the graph shows otherwise," he said.
The two also clashed over regional gaps in housing supply. Jang said that according to his office's comparison of monthly average completions before and after Oh took office, completions in the three Gangnam-area districts rose 11.5% while those in the other 22 districts fell 43%. On permits, he said approvals in the three Gangnam districts fell 5.3% while the rest of the city saw a 14.5% decline, charging that the mayor "increased homes in Gangnam and cut homes outside Gangnam."
Oh countered that the gap reflected the loss of a supply base of 389 redevelopment zones, or about 430,000 homes, that were cancelled during Park's tenure. Most of those areas were concentrated in northern Seoul, he said, so project implementation approvals, management disposition approvals, relocations, construction starts and completions all declined with a time lag, and the effects continue today. He also argued that about 70% of the homes completed during Park's tenure came from projects permitted during his own first term. "Development has to be viewed over the long term, so supply figures are affected by the policies of the previous or the second-previous mayor," he said.
In his administrative report that day, Oh expressed his commitment to expanding supply by promoting redevelopment projects. "This year, 15,000 homes actually broke ground, and the Moa Housing program (a city initiative promoting small-scale redevelopment by grouping together aging low-rise homes) saw its first completion in August," he said. "We will resolve on-site difficulties and unreasonable regulations so that housing supply continues without interruption." He added that the city would lower housing cost burdens and broaden the base for private rental housing supply to help stabilize the jeonse (a Korean lease system requiring a large lump-sum deposit instead of monthly rent) and monthly rent markets.
Oh also presented the Hangang Bus service, the revitalization of the nighttime economy, and safety management for ground subsidence and public and private construction sites as key tasks. "We will not evaluate policy results solely by the number and scale of projects," he said. "We will make how much citizens' lives have actually improved, and how much they feel that change, our most important standard."