Seoul Changes Like This: Park and Oh Welcome Expanded Housing Supply... Welfare and Economic Policies Diverge

Development Approaches and Tax Positions Completely Opposed
Park Young-sun's Election Maintains Park Won-soon's Policies... Oh Se-hoon's Election Restarts Projects Like Hangang Renaissance

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Lim Cheol-young and Lim On-yu] In this Seoul mayoral by-election, it was difficult to find policy debates as moral controversies between the ruling and opposition parties and the argument for regime judgment competed. However, since the lives of ten million Seoul citizens will change significantly depending on the election results, it is important for voters to examine the candidates' pledges until the last moment.

At the core of change are the real estate policies of Park Young-sun, the Democratic Party candidate, and Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate. Since the new mayor's term ends in June 2022, one year and three months later, the winner is likely to accelerate the implementation of pledges immediately after taking office. Both candidates have pledged to expand supply, so the housing supply in Seoul is expected to increase significantly.

However, there are differences in the supply methods. Candidate Park aims to align with public-centered government policies, while Candidate Oh emphasizes private housing supply. Park pledged to supply 300,000 half-price public housing units by 2025. The plan is to secure space by undergrounding the Gyeongbu Expressway and utilizing city-owned and national land, and supply affordable public apartments through a land leasehold system. On the other hand, Oh promised to supply 360,000 units, including 185,000 through revitalizing private redevelopment and reconstruction. To achieve this, he plans to abolish the 35-floor restriction along the Han River, raise the floor area ratio of residential areas in Seoul, which is set lower than the National Land Planning Act, and remove the seven-floor limit in general residential areas.

The candidates also differ on real estate taxes, with one advocating a slowdown and the other tax cuts. Park promised to limit the increase in official property prices. She intends to negotiate with the Democratic Party to keep the increase rate of official property prices for houses under 900 million KRW below 10%. Oh announced plans to reduce property taxes through amendments to Seoul city ordinances. He envisions cutting property taxes like Seocho District, which refunded 50% of property taxes. He also promised full exemption for one-house owners with no income.

The candidates' approaches and solutions to livelihood economy measures also differ. Park plans to provide interest-free loans of 50 million KRW per small business owner. She will also promote a 30% rent reduction for small business tenants and 15% city subsidies for landlords. Oh supports small business owners through ‘four no’ loan guarantees and resetting sector-specific distancing manuals. In summary, Park emphasizes universal support, while Oh focuses on selective support. Regarding childcare and care policies, Park prioritizes full free meals in kindergartens and improving the child-to-teacher ratio in daycare centers. She also plans to expand care infrastructure for the disabled and the elderly. Conversely, Oh excludes free meal pledges and aims to increase the proportion of public daycare centers to 50% while expanding private kindergartens.

These differences stem from the distinct mid- to long-term visions presented by the two candidates. Park’s long-term vision for Seoul includes terms like green space ratio, carbon neutrality, and vertical gardens. In contrast, Oh’s vision mentions balanced development and the Han River Renaissance. The ongoing ‘Gwanghwamun Plaza restructuring project’ will continue if Park is elected, but Oh may halt it citing public opposition.

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