'SH President Nominee' Kim Heon-dong, City Council Preparing... Will They Find Common Ground?

Kim Heon-dong and Oh Se-hoon Appointed as New SH Presidents
No Mandatory Hearing, but Possible Burden if City Council Opposes

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] Former head of the Real Estate and Construction Reform Headquarters at the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ), Kim Heondong, has been nominated as the president of the Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH Corporation) after a second attempt.

The remaining procedure is the personnel hearing by the Seoul Metropolitan Council. The council, which has already given a failing grade once, has announced a strict verification process. Although appointment is possible even if the hearing is not passed, maintaining an uncomfortable relationship could be a burden for nominee Kim. Attention is focused on whether the hearing will be an opportunity to restore relations or further deteriorate them.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the 13th, after three rounds of SH president recruitment, former head Kim was selected. Kim Hyun-ah, a former member of the National Assembly, who was nominated through the first recruitment, voluntarily withdrew, and in the second recruitment, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon rejected the final candidate nomination. Subsequently, Kim was selected through the third recruitment process.

Kim had applied in the second recruitment but was eliminated in the SH executive recommendation committee's review. It is known that the Seoul Metropolitan Council, which forms one axis of the recommendation committee, judged Kim as unqualified. Kim has been called a "sharpshooter" for his strong criticism of the Moon Jae-in administration's real estate policies since his time at CCEJ. The council currently has a majority of members from the Democratic Party of Korea.

Mayor Oh's trust was significant in Kim's decision to reapply and ultimately be nominated as SH president. On the 3rd of last month, during a Seoul Metropolitan Council policy question session following Kim's elimination, Mayor Oh said, "In a situation where apartment prices are soaring, it would be great if we could bring in someone like Kim to control apartment prices, which led to the policy decision to encourage his application."

The remaining step is the council's hearing. Regardless of the hearing outcome, Mayor Oh can appoint the SH president, but it is indeed a burden. In fact, former lawmaker Kim Hyun-ah decided to resign voluntarily due to issues raised about her multi-homeowner remarks during the hearing.

This hearing is also expected to be a fierce battle. Democratic Party council members criticize nominee Kim as a political appointee and are preparing for rigorous scrutiny. A subtle tension was detected even regarding the hearing schedule. While the Seoul Metropolitan Government hoped to hold the hearing within this month to minimize the vacancy, the council, currently in temporary recess, insists on conducting the hearing during the regular session starting on the 1st of next month. Ultimately, the hearing is scheduled to be held during next month's regular session.

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