Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon made it clear today (the 6th) that he "can never agree" with proposals raised in some quarters to supply housing within the Yongsan Park site, firmly opposing the idea.

Mayor Oh stated that during a meeting the previous day with Kim Yong-beom, the presidential chief policy officer, he urged the government to shift its perception regarding urban maintenance projects and requested support for private rental housing providers.

Speaking during his closing remarks at the citizen grand debate on real estate normalizing held at Seoul City Hall today, Mayor Oh noted that the possibility of utilizing the Yongsan Park Children's Garden site for housing supply has recently been discussed. He asserted, "We can never use it for housing supply in that manner, not even a fraction of it. I cannot agree."

Expressing his opposition, he said, "While the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport says it is not their official stance, I feel a sense of anxiety amidst the ongoing rumors. There is a saying that no matter how desperate things get, you do not eat your seed corn."

Mayor Oh emphasized, "With severe heatwaves approaching due to climate change, managing green areas to the maximum extent is an obligation I must fulfill as the mayor of Seoul. Both the government and the Seoul city government must feel the heavy responsibility to preserve all 300,000 square meters of the Yongsan Park site—even as the adjacent Yongsan International Business District is developed—to pass it down to future generations."

Mayor Oh recounted that during his meeting with Chief Policy Officer Kim the previous day, he raised issues with the government's basic philosophy on redevelopment and reconstruction.

He pointed out that remarks made last month by President Lee Jae-myung during the National Public Debate on Real Estate Policy—suggesting that even with maintenance projects, the number of households might not increase significantly or could even decrease—were problematic, adding that such remarks could have a negative impact on the market.

Mayor Oh noted, "In the case of reconstruction, new housing units increase by up to around 40 percent on average, and for redevelopment, by about 25 percent. The President surely knows this, yet he publicly stated in an open setting that new units hardly increase anyway, questioning why so much effort needs to be put into it."

He continued, "I strongly raised the issue that if the government is seen as hostile toward maintenance projects and lacking the will to resolve delays caused by various policies, it could send the wrong signal to the market that new housing supplies through maintenance projects will become difficult to expect, causing housing prices to keep rising."

Mayor Oh added that he also mentioned the government's concern that relocation demand from maintenance projects could stimulate the key money (jeonse) and monthly rent markets, stating, "While it is an understandable explanation, it puts the cart before the horse. The Seoul city government can handle the operational aspects by properly staggering the schedules for upcoming relocation sites as they approach, and there is no reason to hold a hostile stance against maintenance projects."

He stated that he also emphasized the need to ease regulations on private rental business operators as subjects of housing supply.

Mayor Oh said, "I emphasized asking them to make financial and tax systems friendly so that private rental business operators can carry out [housing supply] projects," adding, "It will be a measure far more important than the August 3 measures."

He further noted, "How can a housing shortage, stabilization, and jeonse and monthly rent issues be resolved by imposing heavy taxes on those who originally owned homes? I believe creating an environment where private rental suppliers can operate through tax and loan incentives is a far more valuable policy approach."

(Photo: Yonhap News)