Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon Appoints Kim Heon-dong, Former Head of Kyungsilyeon, as SH President

Eliminated Once... Selected as Final Candidate After Reapplication

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hye-min] Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has ultimately appointed Kim Heon-dong, former head of the Real Estate and Construction Reform Headquarters at the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, as the candidate for president of the Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH).

According to Seoul City on the 12th, the city decided on Kim, the former head, as the final sole candidate for SH president that morning.

Kim, who has criticized the Moon Jae-in administration's real estate policies, was considered a strong candidate to be appointed by Mayor Oh, but he faced a setback during the recruitment process in August. The Seoul City Council, dominated by the ruling party, gave Kim a failing grade, preventing him from making it to the final two candidates.

In response, Mayor Oh refused to finalize the candidate and called for a re-application process, in which Kim re-applied and was selected as the final candidate. Earlier, in July, Seoul City had nominated former National Assembly member Kim Hyun-ah as an SH president candidate through a recruitment process, but she voluntarily resigned amid controversy over remarks related to multiple home ownership during the city council hearing. Thus, Kim Heon-dong was nominated after the third recruitment process.

Kim is expected to be appointed as president after going through the city council's personnel hearing. The city plans to submit a hearing request after coordinating the schedule with the city council. According to the agreement between Seoul City and the city council, the personnel hearing for heads of local public enterprises under Seoul City must be held within 10 days from the date requested by the mayor.

However, since the council is currently in a temporary recess, a one-point special session must be convened to hold the hearing. The city council's position is to hold the hearing aligned with the regular session scheduled for the 1st of the following month. Mayor Oh can appoint Kim as SH president regardless of the hearing results.

Meanwhile, Kim has been active in the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice since 2000 and served as head of the Apartment Price Bubble Removal Movement Headquarters. Since the inauguration of the Moon Jae-in administration, he has positioned himself as a critic, urging for disclosure of pre-sale costs, implementation of pre-sale price caps, increases in official land prices, and a comprehensive re-examination of development expansion.

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