Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has criticized President Lee Jae-myung for attributing the surge in Seoul's real estate prices during a press conference today (the 18th) to the claim that "(redevelopment and reconstruction) permits and construction starts halved starting from the year Mayor Oh took office," urging the president to "at least have a proper perception of reality."

Mayor Oh posted on Facebook, emphasizing, "The President cannot possibly not know what processes and time are required for housing to reach the construction start stage," and adding, "No matter how much one might want to deny it, the fact remains that it was former Mayor Park Won-soon who lifted redevelopment and reconstruction projects across all of Seoul and threw those processes entirely away."

Mayor Oh also rebutted, "It is something you can easily verify just by checking the data that Seoul's housing prices showed a downward stabilization trend after the inauguration of the 8th popular-election Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, only to turn upward around the inauguration of President Lee Jae-myung," adding, "It is a fact that the timing when housing prices began to jump—after stabilizing once again following the redesignation of the land transaction permission zone—also coincides with the timing of the President's inauguration."

He directly targeted the president by stating, "Without acknowledging these facts to the end, the President keeps repeating the remark that construction starts have decreased since Oh Se-hoon took office whenever the opportunity arises," and asking, "If the rise in Seoul housing prices is because of Oh Se-hoon, why was I re-elected as Seoul Mayor, and why is the President's approval rating in Seoul continuing to decline?"

He continued, "To the extent that we do not even have the leisure to argue over who is responsible for the rise in housing prices, Seoul's housing prices are currently continuing their steepest rise for a longer period than under any previous government," pointing out, "Unfortunately, the President seems to be relying only on partial data. It appears he views the 'catch-up price rises' in outer areas of Seoul as merely a temporary phenomenon."

He further noted, "The problem is that the housing ladder for newlyweds and young people in Seoul is on the verge of complete collapse," pointing out, "Unable to get loans, they cannot even dare to buy a home, and with even jeonse (lump-sum housing deposits) drying up, they are giving up on their lives in Seoul."

He argued, "Pushing young people out of Seoul and severing the middle class's hopes of owning a home cannot be balanced development," adding, "Doing so will not revive the provinces, and will only result in killing both Seoul and the future of young people together."

Mayor Oh pointed out, "Seoul citizens did not hear the answers they wanted to hear from the President today," adding, "Instead of an answer promising a complete overhaul of the misguided real estate policy stance, it was essentially hearing blame shifted onto others, saying this is all because of Oh Se-hoon."

He continued, "I suspected whether aides might be reporting incorrect information to the President, but after watching today's press conference, I changed my mind," criticizing, "The President himself has been trapped in a false conviction and is rejecting reality."

He stated, "You may blame Oh Se-hoon a hundred times. Out of those hundred times, please look properly, even just once, at the reality of young people who are frustrated because they cannot secure a home and newlyweds who are giving up on buying a home in front of loan barriers. And please first strip away your excess of self-conviction."

Mayor Oh concluded his post by saying, "Before the lives of citizens collapse any further, the President's mindset needs to be completely reset."

(Photo: Yonhap News)