SH President Vacancy Lengthens... Two Failed Recruitment Attempts Since Oh's Inauguration

Reopened Recruitment After Candidate Kim Hyun-ah's Voluntary Withdrawal
Both Oh Se-hoon and Two Candidates Recommended by the Nomination Committee Rejected

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is attending the Cabinet meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 31st. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The prolonged vacancy of the president position at Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH) is raising concerns about a gap in Seoul's housing policy. Since Mayor Oh Se-hoon's inauguration, there have been two recruitment rounds, but the appointment has been delayed due to differing opinions between the Seoul Metropolitan Council and the Seoul city government.

According to the Seoul city government and SH Corporation on the 7th, Mayor Oh notified the disqualification of two candidates recommended for the SH president position: Jeong Yuseung, former head of SH's Urban Regeneration Headquarters, and Han Changseop, former director of the Public Housing Promotion Division at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. This came 12 days after the SH executive recommendation committee nominated them. The SH president selection process involves the recommendation committee narrowing down to two candidates, from which the Seoul mayor selects the final candidate. Although the Seoul Metropolitan Council holds a confirmation hearing, its judgment is not binding.

Some analysts suggest that the re-recruitment was inevitable after Kim Heondong, former head of the Real Estate and Construction Reform Division at the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (Gyeongsiryeon), whom Mayor Oh had in mind, was eliminated in the recommendation committee's screening. Mayor Oh had previously stated during a Seoul Metropolitan Council policy question session on the 3rd that he considered Kim the right candidate and proposed his application for the president position. However, the recommendation committee members appointed by the council gave Kim a failing grade, excluding him from the final candidate pool.

A Seoul city official commented on this decision, saying, "The Planning and Coordination Office conducted a thorough verification over a long period and ultimately judged the candidates as unqualified," adding, "(The reasons) are personal information, so we cannot disclose specifics." However, the city expressed dissatisfaction with the recommendation committee's decision. The official said, "We want to leave the screening results to the conscience of the committee members. It is a neglect of fair responsibility," and added, "We request an objective evaluation to prevent unfair screening again."

The SH recommendation committee plans to reopen the recruitment for the president position. Following candidate Kim Hyun-ah's voluntary withdrawal after facing intense criticism over her status as a multi-homeowner during the council's confirmation hearing, and Mayor Oh's refusal to finalize a candidate, the recruitment process has now gone through three rounds. Since the first recruitment in June, more than three months have been spent on the appointment process alone.

Although the recommendation committee finalized the second candidate selection within a month, there is a possibility of further delays this time. The Seoul city government has requested that the procedure be expedited as much as possible, but it is reported that no decision has been made yet on whether to proceed with the existing committee members or to reorganize the recommendation committee from scratch.

An SH official stated, "There are differing opinions?some say that according to regulations, the current committee members should continue as in the second recruitment, while others say they can be changed," adding, "If the committee is reorganized, it will take at least two months from now."

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