Seoul Mayor Candidates' "If Not, Then Forget It" Style Real Estate Promises

Plan for Undergrounding Roads and Subways
Low Feasibility of Realization Within Term

Promise to Ease 'Building Height Regulations'
Cannot Be Implemented Without City Council Agreement

Raising 'High-Rise Housing Standards'
Criticized as Beyond Mayor's Authority

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] With the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election just two months away, the outlines of the most anticipated real estate pledges are emerging. However, most candidates’ pledges have been criticized as “empty promises” that either exceed the mayor’s authority or lack realism and specificity.

According to political circles and industry sources on the 15th, all ruling and opposition party candidates for Seoul mayor are focusing their real estate pledges on expanding housing supply ahead of the election. The ruling party candidates emphasize public housing supply through land development, while opposition candidates differ in approach by advocating deregulation of redevelopment projects.

The issue lies in feasibility. Although all candidates have created pledges based on expectations of winning the next term, there are virtually no pledges presenting concrete blueprints for the one-year term.

A representative example is the “underground” road or subway plan proposed by Democratic Party candidates Woo Sang-ho and Park Young-sun. The pledge stems from the idea of developing new land since there is a shortage of land to build houses in Seoul. Especially for ruling party candidates emphasizing public housing supply, securing land through underground development is directly linked to the success of housing supply. Candidate Woo pledged to cover parts of Olympic-daero and Gangbyeonbuk-ro and underground the Subway Line 1 to supply 160,000 households. Candidate Park promised to supply 300,000 households by undergrounding roads from the National Assembly to East Yeouido and the Gyeongbu Expressway.

However, market evaluations suggest that the underground plan will take considerable time to materialize. Since the underground areas coincide with station zones or the Han River waterfront, it may take time just to manage opposition from nearby residents. There is also a precedent where the Park Geun-hye administration’s plan to build Happy Housing on railway tracks failed due to local residents’ opposition. Moreover, building housing on top of undergrounded areas is a long-term project and is unlikely to impact the immediate housing supply needs.

Professor Kwon Dae-jung of Myongji University’s Department of Real Estate said, “I don’t know how the numbers of 160,000 and 300,000 households came from just public land development,” adding, “Considering residents’ opposition, it is practically impossible to proceed.”

The floor regulation relaxation pledges by People Power Party candidates Oh Se-hoon and Na Kyung-won fall under Seoul city’s jurisdiction but require approval through the city council. Notably, 102 out of 110 Seoul city council members belong to the Democratic Party, making it difficult to resolve unilaterally without their cooperation. Candidate Oh proposed abolishing the seven-floor limit in second-class general residential areas, while candidate Na proposed easing or lifting uniform floor restrictions.

Candidate Na’s pledge to raise the high-priced housing threshold from 900 million won to 1.2 billion won has also been criticized as exceeding the mayor’s authority. The current high-priced housing standard is specified in the Enforcement Decree of the Income Tax Act, which falls under the Ministry of Economy and Finance. While candidates Na and Ahn’s pledges to reduce local taxes such as acquisition tax and property tax can have some effect through the mayor’s authority, without coordination with the central government, which holds fiscal support authority, there could be backlash. Seocho District, which independently pursued property tax reduction among Seoul’s autonomous districts, had its refunds halted due to a lawsuit by Seoul city.

Park Won-gap, Senior Real Estate Specialist at KB Kookmin Bank, said, “Many pledges involve legal amendments, central government authority, or areas difficult for Seoul city to handle,” adding, “Even if elected by emphasizing pledges beyond their authority, they will have to negotiate with the central government and the National Assembly.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.