Oh Se-hoon, Why Does He Want to Appoint Progressive Reformer Kim Heon-dong as SH President? [Park Jong-il Local News]

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon Appears to Intend to Replace SH President with 'Progressive Theorist' Kim Heon-dong, Head of Kyungsillyeon, Marking a 180-Degree Shift After 'Market Theorist' Kim Hyun-ah's Fall, Drawing Attention to the Background

Mayor Oh Se-hoon

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon appears to be pushing Kim Heon-dong, head of the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ), as a candidate for president of the Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH), drawing considerable attention.

According to reports, it is unusual that Kim Heon-dong himself applied as a candidate for SH president. Kim has been a civic activist at CCEJ for the past 25 years, so it was unexpected that he would apply for the head of a public corporation.

However, after it became known on the afternoon of the 13th that Kim had submitted his candidacy for SH president, the atmosphere has already accepted him as the next SH president, even before the candidate interviews and the Seoul City Council hearing procedures have been completed.

So why is Mayor Oh pushing reformist Kim Heon-dong for SH president?

After winning the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election and taking office, Mayor Oh initially nominated former People Power Party proportional representative Kim Hyun-ah as president of SH, a Seoul city-affiliated institution.

Mayor Oh and Kim Hyun-ah, who had been politically aligned with the Bareun Party and others, viewed her as an expert who focused on criticizing the Moon Jae-in administration’s real estate policy failures, arguing that the government’s active intervention in tax policy and other areas caused the real estate price surge.

However, during the Seoul City Council hearing, Kim Hyun-ah was met with public outrage due to her ownership of four real estate properties, including two houses, officetels, and commercial buildings, and her attitude during the hearing was problematic, leading to her dismissal.

Mayor Oh also suffered a significant political blow as his first initiative after taking office ended in failure. Despite his own opposition, he faced considerable damage by dropping the Kim Hyun-ah card, especially as he was continuously mentioned as the top contender for the People Power Party’s next presidential candidate.

For this reason, Mayor Oh seems to have put forward Kim Heon-dong, who is completely different in character from former candidate Kim Hyun-ah.

Kim Heon-dong, head of CCEJ’s Real Estate Reform Headquarters, is a thorough progressive. He consistently advocates for revealing apartment construction costs and offering half-price apartments, citing the real estate price bubble theory.

Because of this, Mayor Oh’s move to bring out the Kim Heon-dong card, which is 180 degrees different from Kim Hyun-ah, has left even the market puzzled. A real estate site YouTuber commented on the 14th, "Some media reported 'Kim Heon-dong head likely SH president,' but it seems to be a mistake," reflecting the unusual nature of the situation.

Not only Seoul city officials but many Seoul citizens are curious about the background, wondering if Kim Heon-dong will indeed become SH president.

A Seoul city council member affiliated with the Democratic Party of Korea said, “The fact that Kim Heon-dong of CCEJ applied as a candidate for SH president after Kim Hyun-ah’s dismissal is surprising,” adding, “This would be impossible without Mayor Oh’s support.”

So why did Mayor Oh push Kim Heon-dong as a candidate for SH, the Seoul city’s affordable housing supply company?

Although Kim Heon-dong has spent his life as a progressive civic activist, he has sharply criticized the Moon Jae-in administration’s real estate policies and is also believed to have supported Oh Se-hoon’s side to some extent during the April 7 by-election, which has drawn attention.

Given this connection, and considering that Mayor Oh sees a failure in the SH president nomination as potentially fatal to his future political career, it appears he chose the Kim Heon-dong card.

In particular, this is interpreted as a strategic move by Mayor Oh to strengthen his image as a ‘progressive conservative politician’ for his future political trajectory.

Also, as former SH president candidate Kim Hyun-ah faced severe criticism from People Power Party presidential candidate Hong Joon-pyo and others, Mayor Oh seems to have played the Kim Heon-dong card as a turnaround strategy.

Additionally, it seems Mayor Oh judged that nominating Kim Heon-dong would allow the candidate to pass the Seoul City Council hearing without major issues.

Another Seoul city council member said, “Mayor Oh’s move to put forward Kim Heon-dong seems to have considered passing the hearing,” supporting this outlook.

Since the Seoul City Council hearing system was first introduced during Mayor Park Won-soon’s administration, and Kim Hyun-ah was the first candidate to be dismissed through this process, public interest in the hearings remains high.

Especially after the LH scandal, issues involving real estate public corporation officials have become a nationwide concern, making the bold use of the strongly progressive Kim Heon-dong card seem plausible.

Then, will Kim Heon-dong smoothly pass the interview and hearing process?

The SH president selection committee interview is practically a formality. Therefore, the candidate reflecting the Seoul mayor’s intention will be ranked first.

Then, Seoul City will request a hearing on the SH candidate from the Seoul City Council, which will focus on thoroughly examining the candidate’s morality and expertise through the Urban Planning Management Committee’s SH Corporation President Hearing Committee (Chairman No Sik-rae).

In particular, although Kim Heon-dong once served as a manager at Ssangyong Construction, he has been actively working for 25 years at CCEJ to eliminate the real estate bubble, so his morality and expertise are unlikely to be problematic.

However, if Kim Heon-dong is appointed SH president after the City Council hearing, significant changes are expected within the company. Kim himself has consistently advocated that SH should not engage in land and housing sales but focus on supplying land-lease housing.

Accordingly, SH is expected to focus more on supplying rental apartments rather than sale apartments in the future. In this case, SH’s management outlook does not look bright. Already, there is a tense atmosphere inside SH regarding Kim’s appointment as president.

Given the quick submission of candidates after the first Kim Hyun-ah candidate’s dismissal, the interview and hearing processes are expected to be shortened and proceed rapidly. The SH president is likely to be appointed within September.

Since the previous president’s retirement led to a prolonged vacancy, the internal organization is presumed to have loosened. Attention is focused on whether SH, welcoming a new leader after Chuseok, can transform and embark on a new journey.

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