Oh Se-hoon: "Former Mayor Park Won-soon Induced Cancellation of Seoul Redevelopment... How Can They Blame Others Now?"

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon asserted that the housing supply cliff in Seoul originated during the tenure of his predecessor, former Mayor Park Won-soon, arguing that accountability must be clearly established.

Speaking at the "Housing Policy Achievement Sharing Session" held in the main conference room of Seoul City Hall today (September 21), Mayor Oh said, "When I took office (in 2021), urban renewal projects had ground to a halt," adding, "Between 2012 and 2020, 389 sites were canceled, amounting to 430,000 housing units."

He continued, "Using conflicts within project promotion committees or cooperatives as an excuse, and using opposition from 30% of residents as an excuse, they were busy canceling (redevelopment projects)," pointing out, "It would be more accurate to say that they actually induced cancellations. It was the Seoul Metropolitan Government that created rifts and stoked conflicts."

He also added, "The 35-story height restriction on residential buildings was also introduced during Mayor Park's tenure, causing many redevelopment complexes to stall," and noted, "The consent procedure was also tightened from once to three times. They were practically preventing (renewal projects) as much as possible."

Mayor Oh explained, "I held back because it felt like shifting the blame for what the former mayor's aides did onto civil servants, but seeing how, after a few years, they brazenly shifted the responsibility onto their successor, I judged that I could no longer remain silent."

Mayor Oh also said, "Central government regulations were no different. The weight given to structural safety in reconstruction evaluations was raised from 20% to 50%, and hardly any sites passed," adding, "From the perspective of areas seeking redevelopment projects, the policy was close to an outrage."

He then emphasized, "Have they already forgotten all that? How can they blame others after implementing such policies?"

He also continued his criticism of President Lee Jae-myung, who had pointed to Mayor Oh as the cause of soaring real estate prices in Seoul during a press conference on September 18.

At the time, President Lee remarked, "Starting from the year Mayor Oh Se-hoon was elected, the number of permits and construction starts (for redevelopment projects) dropped by half."

In response, Mayor Oh said, "There may be various reasons for the decline in permit and construction volumes, but permits cannot be granted if prior steps, such as designation of project zones or cooperative establishment, do not proceed smoothly," asking, "How can we approve projects when there is no groundwork?"

He added, "Watching the president publicly make such unreasonable claims, I could not help but deplore it."

Mayor Oh stressed, "He will likely make (such unreasonable claims) again," adding, "I state clearly that I will not hold back just to save his face, and I will make sure accountability is made clear."
 
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.