Oh Se-hoon: "Officials who initiate deregulation will receive promotion, rewards, and immunity"

Emergency Economic Meeting on Deregulation in the Economic Sector
"Economy Must Be Driven by Companies... Deregulation Is Crucial"
Emphasizing Awareness of Regulatory Issues and Promising 'Swift Deregulation'

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon stated, "Deregulation is a sustainable economic policy that makes companies eager to work," and pledged to mobilize all of Seoul City's capabilities to ensure thorough deregulation. He especially emphasized that each public official must have a sense of awareness regarding regulations and promised that public officials who actively engage in deregulation will be granted promotions, awards, and even exemption from liability.

On the morning of the 19th, Mayor Oh chaired an emergency economic meeting at Seoul City Hall under the theme of 'Economic Deregulation,' saying, "I will personally oversee deregulation."

Since the martial law situation, Mayor Oh has been directly managing the emergency economic meetings aimed at 'restoring normalcy.' Following discussions with economic organizations (on the 10th), the tourism industry (11th), autonomous districts (12th), foreign financial and investment firms (13th), and the construction industry (16th), he held talks on deregulation in the economic sector on this day.

Yonhap News

At this meeting, Mayor Oh highlighted that Seoul City ranked first among all metropolitan cities and provinces nationwide for the first time in 14 years in the Public Institution Comprehensive Integrity Evaluation by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, and that Seoul rose one step to 6th place in the urban competitiveness evaluation by Japan's Mori Foundation compared to last year. He explained, "This is proof that Seoul City is recognized both domestically and internationally, and that the achievements of public officials are shining."

He also mentioned that extraordinary measures are necessary for Seoul's competitiveness and economic vitality. Mayor Oh said, "The economy must be driven by companies. To overcome the low-growth risk currently facing Korea, we need to invigorate the private economy where incentive structures work effectively."

He stated that deregulation is crucial for this. Mayor Oh expressed concern that the deregulation achievements in urban planning, such as abolishing the 35-floor limit along the Han River, easing regulations in height-restricted zones, and recognizing current floor area ratios, are insufficient, noting, "Representatives of construction associations and businesspeople still complain that the regulatory barriers are high." He announced plans to form a separate task force with industry representatives, experts, and research organizations to thoroughly review the complex review processes, various permits and approvals, and unreasonable public contributions in the construction sector, and to prepare swift deregulation measures.

However, he stressed that the most important factor is the awareness of public officials regarding regulations. Mayor Oh said, "Department heads must actively encourage participation in deregulation," and previewed that incentives, including promotions and awards, will be significantly expanded for public officials who actively engage in deregulation, and that the active administration exemption system will be utilized.

On this day, Mayor Oh also made remarks seemingly targeting the Democratic Party and its leader Lee Jae-myung. He said, "Giving cash to all citizens cannot be the answer to economic problems," and pointed out, "The government's excessive fiscal deficit is unsustainable and will be passed on directly to the youth and future generations." Previously, regarding the Democratic Party's proposed '250,000 won livelihood recovery support fund,' Mayor Oh had stated, "Distributing 250,000 won is neither a welfare policy nor a fiscal economic policy but irresponsible Lee Jae-myung-style populism," adding, "If money is distributed and prices rise, the pain of the vulnerable will worsen."

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