Oh Se-hoon: "Redevelopment Stagnation Harms the Vulnerable... Ideology Must Be Removed from Housing Policy"

On the 5th, when Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced the rapid integrated planning proposal for Changsin and Sungin-dong in Jongno-gu, Seoul, he emphasized, "It is not redevelopment but the stagnation of redevelopment that makes life difficult for the vulnerable," and added, "From now on, I will ensure that ideology no longer interferes with housing policy."

On the 5th, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited the Changsin and Sungin rapid integrated planning redevelopment candidate sites in Seoul and engaged in conversations with residents. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

That afternoon, Mayor Oh posted on Facebook an article titled "I want to embrace the vulnerable through redevelopment," stating, "Changsin and Sungin-dong, which have been neglected under the pretext of preservation and where housing and quality of life have collapsed, will now change."

Mayor Oh pointed out, "During the dark ten years, forces that called themselves progressive condemned civil engineering as a sin and shouted the appealing slogan 'People First,' but in reality, 'respect for people' was missing here," adding, "While development was delayed, the suffering was borne entirely by the residents here."

He sharply criticized, "The alleyways are so narrow that fire trucks cannot access them, and there are steep slopes everywhere that make it difficult for the disabled or elderly with health issues to move around," and said, "Old houses fail to properly protect the people living there on hot days, cold days, or rainy days."

Mayor Oh emphasized, "Now the Changsin and Sungin planning proposal has been finalized," and said, "Some may be interested in the number of apartment units, market price changes, or floor area ratio, but I look forward to changes in the quality of life of the residents, especially the socially vulnerable."

On the same day in the morning, Seoul City finalized and announced the rapid integrated planning proposal for the area covering Changsin-dong 23 and Sungin-dong 56. This area spans a total of 104,853 square meters and is a hilly terrain surrounded on three sides by the Hanyang Fortress Wall and Naksan Hill, resulting in very poor transportation and residential environments. Although a New Town project was promoted from 2007, the district designation was canceled in 2013, causing fluctuations. Subsequently, it was designated as the first urban regeneration leading area, but the physical residential environment improvements such as housing supply and infrastructure were insufficient, leading to accumulated dissatisfaction among residents.

Through the rapid integrated planning, Seoul City plans to transform this area into a hillside-specialized urban residential complex. A total of 2,000 households will be established in the urban residential complex. First, facilities with low usage rates or those that have been neglected will be relocated, and through complexification, the utilization and capacity of public facilities will be increased. Additionally, considering the surroundings, the zoning will be upgraded from Type 2 (7 floors) to Type 2 residential (with the area around Changsin Station designated as Type 3 residential), and the complex facility plan will induce revitalization around Changsin Station.

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