Oh Sehoon: "Faster Reconstruction Projects" vs Jung Wonoh: "Expert Close Management"

Seoul apartment complex view. Photo by Yonhap News

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With both the ruling and opposition parties finalizing their candidates for the June 3 local elections for Seoul mayor, attention is focusing on their real estate pledges. Oh Sehoon, the incumbent Seoul mayor and candidate of the People Power Party, has stated his intention to maintain a private sector-led approach while easing regulations on urban renewal projects. His challenger, Jung Won-oh of the Democratic Party of Korea, is proposing stronger management of reconstruction and redevelopment, as well as the supply of cost-effective apartments.

Given the difficulty in securing new residential land within Seoul for this election, pledges on urban renewal projects are expected to play a critical role in determining the outcome. Mayor Oh plans to accelerate reconstruction and redevelopment projects, centering on the Rapid Integrated Planning system, with the goal of starting construction on a total of 310,000 housing units by 2031. The Rapid Integrated Planning system is a framework in which the city provides guidelines from the planning stage, shortens the review and project duration, and supports swift project implementation. In particular, the strategy involves selecting areas with a high likelihood of commencing construction among redevelopment and reconstruction projects, shortening procedures, and intensively managing key supply districts to speed up the process. Of the 310,000 units, 85,000 are planned to begin construction within three years.

Within Seoul, there is also growing support for development in the northern region of the city. Under slogans such as "The Golden Era of Northern Seoul," the plan is to focus the supply of 120,000 units in the northern districts by 2031.

The biggest challenge for Mayor Oh is government lending regulations. If loans are blocked, redevelopment and other projects could face significant obstacles. The Seoul Metropolitan Government has allocated 50 billion won from the Housing Promotion Fund to support relocation loans for urban renewal projects, starting with three pilot sites and gradually expanding the coverage. In addition, the city is seeking to revitalize urban renewal by improving project profitability through measures such as easing regulations on redevelopment promotion districts and reforming the floor area ratio system.

Candidate Jung shares a similar position with Mayor Oh in maintaining a private sector-led supply structure and speeding up urban renewal projects. In response to Oh's Rapid Integrated Planning, Jung is proposing the "Step-by-Step Development" initiative. This involves introducing a project manager system for urban renewal, where experts closely manage the entire process from initial planning to groundbreaking for reconstruction and redevelopment. Jung also outlined a plan to delegate authority for small-scale urban renewal projects with fewer than 500 units to local district offices, thereby streamlining administrative procedures and accelerating the pace of project implementation.

As a method for housing supply, Jung intends to introduce the "Seoul Citizen REITs," a model where citizens invest in real estate investment trusts (REITs) to supply privately sold apartments at 70-80% of market prices. The Seoul Citizen REITs model aims to raise residential development funds through a real estate investment structure with citizen participation, thereby supplying private-sector housing at a price below the current market rate.

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There are also differences in housing welfare policies for vulnerable groups such as young people and the elderly. Mayor Oh appears set to continue existing policies by supplying "Mirinae Home" units to ensure housing stability for newlyweds. Through the Mirinae Home initiative, newly married couples would be offered opportunities for long-term residence, with additional support such as extended occupancy periods and priority purchase rights upon childbirth.

In contrast, Candidate Jung has put forward a plan to supply "Senior Apartments," equipped to provide medical, welfare, and care services at home, in preparation for a super-aged society. To ease the housing difficulties and cost burdens faced by young people, Jung also plans to introduce "Cooperative Dormitories" mainly in areas with many studio apartments near universities. This expands on the "Seongdong Hanyang Cooperative Dormitory" model implemented during his tenure as mayor of Seongdong District, with a pledge to supply 5,000 units annually and a total of 20,000 units during his term.

The two candidates also differ in their approach to countering rental fraud. Since 2022, Mayor Oh has operated the "One-Person Household Monthly and Jeonse Lease Safe Contract Support Service." In this service, a "Housing Safety Manager" who holds a real estate agent license accompanies clients throughout the housing search, policy guidance, and contract process to prevent rental fraud, with plans to expand eligibility from single-person households to all those without home ownership. Candidate Jung, on the other hand, intends to establish a "Real Estate Policy Planning Headquarters" directly under the mayor to address market disruption and the lack of tenant protection. This body would be responsible for strengthening the monitoring of abnormal and unfair transactions, supporting victim relief, and overseeing both housing supply and market stabilization.

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