Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's 'Seoul Vision 2030' Plans to Supply 80,000 Housing Units Annually

By 2030, 800,000 New Homes to Be Supplied in Seoul
500,000 Units to Be Provided Through Redevelopment and Reconstruction
A Total of 48.6888 Trillion KRW Invested to Restore the 'Social Mobility Ladder'
Regulations Eased in Alleyway Commercial Areas, Allowing Terrace Operations in Popular Commercial Districts
'Seoul Investment Agency' to Be Established Next Year as a Specialized Investment Attraction Institution
Yeouido to Become a Digital Finance Special Zone, Dongdaemun to Serve as a Beauty Industry Hub

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has unveiled the master plan for city administration, "Seoul Vision 2030," aimed at supplying 800,000 new housing units in Seoul by 2030 and transforming Seoul into a global top 5 city. The plan includes securing jobs for youth and seniors while making the city more business-friendly through regulatory reforms and infrastructure expansion.

On the 14th, Seoul City announced that through "Seoul Vision 2030," it will invest 48.6888 trillion won by 2030 to restore the broken social mobility ladder through housing, jobs, education, and welfare systems, and raise the international city competitiveness ranking from 17th to 5th. Although this is Mayor Oh’s first master plan since taking office, with his term ending in April next year, it is seen as a campaign pledge for his re-election bid. Mayor Oh said, "We will run again toward a Seoul where anyone can dream, a top-tier global city where the values of fairness and coexistence are alive."

In the housing ladder sector, the focus is on expanding housing supply. Reflecting the current situation where soaring housing prices and a shortage of jeonse (long-term lease) make stable residence difficult, the goal is to supply about 80,000 households annually on average, totaling 800,000 households by 2030. Specifically, 500,000 households will be supplied through redevelopment and reconstruction, with 260,000 and 240,000 households respectively. Seoul City believes that deregulation such as abolishing the residential maintenance index and easing floor height restrictions will enable the achievement of these targets. The average annual supply over the past 10 years was about 73,000 households.

A Seoul City official said, "There are quite a few projects where development procedures have started but progress is stalled due to regulatory or permit issues," adding, "We will listen to their opinions to enable rapid supply."

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Council, about 250,000 households have been delayed in supply due to permit issues in the past. Market experts believe that solving this problem alone would make supplying 50,000 households annually not difficult. Professor Shim Kyo-eon of Konkuk University’s Department of Real Estate said, "There are many units blocked by permits, such as Jamsil Jugong Complex 5," and added, "This is read as a signal to resolve such issues."

By diversifying housing types according to demand, a total of 300,000 households will be supplied by 2030. This includes 70,000 youth housing units for university students and young workers, 170,000 long-term rental housing units for newlyweds and couples raising children, and 60,000 Moa housing units (small-scale reconstruction) for residents of low-rise old houses. The budget for expanding housing supply by 2030 is estimated at 7.6578 trillion won.

Seoul City will invest more than 7 trillion won by 2030 to restore the social mobility ladder. The "Seoul-type Citizen Safety Income," which supports 50% of the shortfall from the standard income, will be piloted next year to build a model and fully implemented in 2027. This is a representative model of Oh Se-hoon’s selective welfare, a top-down approach, instead of universal welfare. To secure youth jobs, 10 Youth Employment Academies will be established by 2030, and three "Campus Town Valleys" will be created by linking campus towns and Seoul Innovation Clusters. For seniors aged 50 and above, "career transition support services" will be provided, and social contribution jobs will be expanded to 10,000 annually. The city will nurture 100 local brands and small businesses, ease business environment regulations by allowing terrace operations in popular commercial areas such as Yeonnam-dong’s Yeontral Park and Sharosugil.

Regulatory reforms and infrastructure expansion to strengthen international city competitiveness will also be pursued. The "Seoul Investment Agency," dedicated to attracting overseas investment and supporting companies like the Hong Kong Investment Promotion Agency or Singapore Economic Development Board, will be established next year. It will be converted into a public institution in 2024, with plans to increase its fund size to 1 trillion won by 2030 and develop it into a specialized investment attraction agency to attract global unicorn companies. Seoul plans to expand the number of unicorn companies (startups valued at over 1 trillion won) to 40 and foster 2,500 startups through a scale-up fund worth 10 trillion won. A total of 4.7327 trillion won will be invested by 2030.

Yeouido will be developed as a digital finance special zone, and Dongdaemun will be grown into a beauty industry hub. The "Seoul Digital Finance Hub Center" will be newly established by 2025 to support the attraction of overseas financial institutions, increasing the number of foreign financial institutions in Seoul to 250. By 2030, a beauty industry cluster will be built in Dongdaemun, concentrating cosmetics companies, research institutes, beauty experience spaces, and Hallyu content. The representative Seoul tourism festival, "Seoul Festa," will be held annually starting next year, aiming to increase the number of foreign tourists from 13.9 million in 2019 to 20 million by 2030. Additionally, four new growth innovation axes connecting Gangnam and Gangbuk will be created, centered on growth hubs along the Han River.

In addition to land routes, a smart three-dimensional transportation city utilizing airways, waterways, and underground roads will be created. By 2030, 32 mobility hubs equipped with future transportation modes such as autonomous vehicles and urban air mobility, logistics centers, and community facilities will be established. The Han River waterway will be restored to activate water tourism taxis and more. Seoul will pursue plans to underground above-ground railway sections in coordination with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and improve the structure of underground arterial roads. Greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by 40% by 2030 and net zero emissions will be achieved by 2050.

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