Hwang Sang-ha, SH Corporation President Candidate, "Will Establish Holding Company for Great Hangang Project"

Establishing Holding Company for 'Great Hangang' Management
"Hangang Project Management Group to Be Directly Subordinated and Commanded"
Focus on Project Progress Rate to Manage Construction Debt
Appointing President from Internal Staff for the First Time in 35 Years

On the 23rd, a confirmation hearing for Hwang Sang-ha, the nominee for president of SH Corporation, was held at the Seoul Metropolitan Council.

Hwang Sang-ha, the candidate for president of Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH Corporation), proposed placing the Hangang Development Project Team directly under the president’s office to systematically promote the ‘Great Hangang’ project. He stated that he would focus on managing project progress to handle the corporation’s debt. As a former SH Corporation official, Hwang did not hesitate to present the problems facing the corporation and their solutions.

At the SH Corporation president candidate confirmation hearing held at the Seoul Metropolitan Council on the 23rd, Hwang presented his policy goals after taking office, including supplying high-quality rental housing, expanding long-term rental housing for newlyweds (Mirinae Jip), carrying out the Great Hangang project, and securing SH Corporation’s financial soundness.

He suggested two measures to systematically promote the Great Hangang project. First, he said he would place the Hangang Development Project Team directly under the president’s office and command it. Hwang said, “SH Corporation is the only development public corporation in Seoul, and we are the only ones with development capabilities. We will place it directly under the president and check it daily, inspecting each stage to ensure there are no problems.” The Great Hangang is a riverside development project that includes building water buses (River Bus) operating on the Hangang River, water tourism hotels, and a giant Ferris wheel. It is also a key project of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon.

He also proposed the idea of establishing a holding company tentatively called ‘Hangang Development Holdings’ as an organization to manage and support the Great Hangang project. This plan was devised when Hwang was the head of the Planning and Management Headquarters. He explained, “Each individual project will have its own company, and until a company with a solid governance structure emerges, we will include a clause in the shareholders’ agreement that allows us to transfer shares at any time. Some projects will incur losses, others will generate profits; we will receive dividends from profitable projects and cover losses by capital increases in loss-making ones.”

Hwang emphasized that he would strive to manage debt even while promoting projects requiring massive funds, such as expanding long-term rental housing for newlyweds and the Great Hangang project. He said, “From this year until 2027, the corporation must invest about 27 trillion won, and since the business model is front-loaded investment with later recovery, debt will inevitably increase. Interest rate changes affect costs, so we will thoroughly manage project progress.”

Concerns were also raised about the high vacancy rate of purchased rental housing owned by SH Corporation. Council member Ko Kwang-min pointed out, “Purchased rental housing is intended to quickly supply rental homes, but as of September this year, there are 7,134 vacant units, of which 2,376 are uninhabitable. Property tax from vacancies lasting more than six months this year alone amounts to 663 million won.” In response, Hwang said, “Vacancies in purchased rental housing began in 2002 when we started buying homes in flood-prone areas such as semi-basements, and closed houses remain on the building management ledger, so they are managed as vacancies. Recently, we also purchased and closed semi-basement units, and once closed units are removed from the building management ledger, they will be exempt from taxation, so we will review and take action.” Hwang has a track record of reducing debt by more than 6 trillion won in 2014 as the practical head of the debt reduction task force during his tenure at the corporation. He also received an ‘A’ grade or higher in management evaluations from 2021 to 2023 when he was head of the Planning and Management Headquarters.

There were concerns that the management evaluation score might decline due to the massive funds invested in key city projects such as the Long-term Rental Housing for Newlyweds 2 (Mirinae Jip), purchased rental housing, River Bus, giant Ferris wheel, and Seoripul public housing district development. In response, Hwang said, “As rental housing supply increases, debt such as rental deposits also rises, which can lower scores. We will request the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to award additional points for public interest, and we will strive to offset negative factors with bonus points.”

On this day, the Seoul Metropolitan Council’s Special Committee on the Confirmation Hearing for the President of Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation adopted the candidate’s confirmation hearing report. Born in 1964, Hwang joined the corporation in 1990 and served as head of the Strategic Planning Office, Director of the Public Property Management Team, Director of the Financial Business Office, Head of Asset Management Headquarters, and Head of Planning and Management Headquarters. He has extensive experience in finance and is known as a financial expert. If Hwang is appointed as the new president, he will become the first president from within the corporation in 35 years.

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