Oh Sehun: "About Half of Sites Proposed by Ministry of Land Under Active Discussion with Seoul"

Seoul Mayor Oh Sehun stated regarding the issue of real estate supply, "About half of the sites proposed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport are being discussed as complexes where we share the same views and can proceed with supply."

At a press conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on the 7th, Mayor Oh said, "Every time I meet with the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, we discuss supply issues," adding, "It is difficult for entirely new sites to suddenly appear in Seoul, but it is true that the Ministry and the Seoul Metropolitan Government are putting their heads together to secure as many supply sites as possible."

Seoul Mayor Oh Sehun is answering questions at the "Asia Business Trip Press Conference" held in Kuala Lumpur on the evening of the 7th. Provided by Seoul City

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Previously, on December 3rd, Mayor Oh had a dinner meeting with Minister Kim Yoonduk of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport at a location in Seoul. The city and the Ministry have formed a working-level consultative body to continue discussions on real estate supply.

Mayor Oh added, "It is a bit difficult to disclose the number of supply sites," but clarified, "I can only say that we are reviewing each specific site one by one."

He also mentioned that discussions are ongoing with the Ministry regarding the scale of housing supply on the Yongsan Maintenance Depot site. The city plans to develop an international business district on the Yongsan Maintenance Depot site, with a housing supply scale of around 6,000 units. However, there have been calls from the ruling party to increase the housing supply to 20,000 units. The government's policy to halt the sale of state-owned assets has also put the Yongsan International Business District project on hold.

In response to the argument that the scale of housing supply should be increased, Mayor Oh emphasized the need to consider basic infrastructure. He explained, "We drafted the plan based on supplying 6,000 units, but if the need arises to suddenly supply more than 10,000 units, various basic infrastructure such as schools would have to be expanded," adding, "Since the blueprint would need to be redrawn, this is not a desirable direction even from the perspective of the current administration, which is putting all its efforts into supply."

He reiterated, "I want to emphasize that if the scale is significantly increased, the supply will actually be delayed." Mayor Oh continued, "Ultimately, this is what we are discussing with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport," and added, "Even if we increase the housing supply, we are discussing to what extent the number of units can be increased without making major changes to the existing basic infrastructure."

In addition, it has been reported that the city and the Ministry are also discussing adjusting the required resident consent rate for the establishment of redevelopment and reconstruction project associations to similar levels. Mayor Oh said, "A final decision has not been made, but we have generally reached a consensus." Currently, the consent rate required for reconstruction projects is 70%, while for redevelopment it must exceed 75%.

Mayor Oh stated, "The central government and the city share the same interests in making urban residential improvement projects such as redevelopment and reconstruction easier," and added, "It is safe to say that proposals to lower such hurdles are being reviewed very positively."

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