Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's Policies Gain Momentum with the Success of the Universal Transportation Card

Climate Companion Card Gains Early Popularity with 70,000 Users on First Day
Cooperation with Neighboring Local Governments Key Factor... Need to Establish Stable Operation System Quickly
Mayor Oh's Welfare Policy Gains Momentum... Accelerating Support for Housing, Youth, and Low-Income Groups

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited City Hall Station in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 29th and used the Climate Companion Card to take the subway. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

With the success of the 'Climate Companion Card,' one of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's flagship projects, policies in the housing and welfare sectors of Seoul have also gained momentum. Despite controversies over budget management and service areas, Mayor Oh's welfare policies have entered the main track, and it is expected that tangible results from Seoul's policies will continue in other areas such as housing.

According to Seoul City on the 29th, on the first day of the 'Climate Companion Card' launch on the 27th, the number of users totaled 71,000, and the cumulative sales volume since release also surpassed 200,000 cards. This corresponds to 40% of the expected number of users (500,000) projected when the policy was announced last year, including convenience store sales on the 26th and 27th.

Seoul City views the initial success as a win in terms of transportation welfare for Seoul citizens. Priced in the 60,000 KRW range, the card allows unlimited use of public transportation within Seoul, including subways, village buses, and the public bicycle system, Ddareungi, so current demand is expected to be maintained.

However, experts analyze that the cooperation variable with adjacent local governments needs to be resolved as quickly as possible. Since there is a considerable demand for boarding and alighting outside Seoul, the structure inevitably leads to increasing dissatisfaction among citizens. Politically, it is expected that Mayor Oh will accelerate the establishment of a cooperative system with Gyeonggi Province, Incheon City, and others.

Based on this, if a stable operational system is established, Mayor Oh's policy scope is likely to expand further. While already focusing on welfare policies targeting housing, youth, and low-income groups, there is a possibility of introducing additional support measures.

A representative example is the Rapid Integrated Planning and Moa Town projects, which will meet housing demand within Seoul. Although the support methods differ, both focus on supplying housing in the city center by quickly renovating aging residential areas through deregulation. On the 14th, the first redevelopment candidate selection committee of the year was held, selecting six sites including the 49th block of Gaebong-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul, as the first candidates for rapid integrated planning redevelopment in Seoul this year. Including the newly selected sites, a total of 57 areas in Seoul are currently undergoing redevelopment through rapid integrated planning. Seoul City plans to actively pursue additional project site selections and administrative support this year as well.

The same applies to welfare policies. The Safe Income program, an income guarantee experiment that supplements household income below the standard income level, has received high public approval. It is a future welfare system that provides more support the lower the income. As a result of additional recruitment for households to participate in this year's 'Safe Income' pilot project, 11,197 households applied for 500 spots, recording a competition rate of 20 to 1. Based on the 18 months of pilot project results, which showed a tangible improvement in the quality of life for participating households, Seoul City is also expecting expansion into government cooperative projects.

The comprehensive measures for isolated and reclusive youth introduced by the city last year have also been expanded nationwide. This policy supports youth who are socially disconnected from discovery and diagnosis to social reintegration. Recently, the government held the Youth Policy Coordination Committee and announced the 'Isolated and Reclusive Youth Support Plan,' which shares the same purpose as the city's policy. This is the first time the central government has introduced a pan-governmental measure for isolated and reclusive youth beyond individual local government measures. A Seoul City official stated, "We plan to consider various policies so that Seoul citizens can feel the changes and create policies that all citizens can empathize with."

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