The Democratic Party dismissed Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's proposal to use a water reclamation center site along Tancheon Stream in the Gangnam district instead of Yongsan Park as an "unrealistic political claim." The party also renewed its call to transfer permitting authority over small-scale redevelopment projects from the Seoul mayor to district office heads.
The party's Seoul chapter held a meeting with Democratic Party district office heads in the capital at its Yeouido office on the 27th to discuss housing policy. They criticized Oh for neglecting the public sector's role while emphasizing private-sector redevelopment and rebuilding, and stressed the need for rapid supply of housing for young adults.
Rep. Kim Young-bae, who chairs the Seoul chapter, took issue with Oh's proposal, made in a meeting with Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kim Yun-duk, to build a "southeastern industrial complex specialized for young adults" on the Tancheon water reclamation center site in Gangnam. Kim called it "an unrealistic political claim that may or may not be feasible even a decade from now."
"One- and two-person households now make up more than 67% of Seoul," Kim said at the meeting. "It is time for proper urban planning, starting with solving the housing crunch facing young adults." He added that "the two principles for housing supply at this point are affordability and maximum speed." Kim also said, "I would like us to discuss transferring to the autonomous districts the excessive authority the Seoul mayor holds over urban planning for small-scale redevelopment and local development projects of 500 units, or fewer than 300 units."
Han Jeoung-ae, the party's secretary-general, said, "With the regular parliamentary session starting in September, we will provide maximum support for measures that can be supplemented institutionally, or that can move quickly by revising central government guidelines."
Rep. Oh Ki-hyung signaled a willingness to work with the mayor, saying, "On the shortage of jeonse and monthly-rent housing and on housing supply, if there is anything appropriate among what Mayor Oh has raised, we intend to actively accept it and work it out." He added, "If there are places where supply restrictions can be lifted right away from residents' standpoint, we should actively discuss alternatives."
"Construction starts and permits were sharply reduced between 2022 and 2024, so a supply shortage is projected for two to three years starting in 2026, and 10% of that volume is public while 90% is private," he said. "Supply fundamentally has to be led by the private sector."
On using part of a future response fund created from excess tax revenue as a project account for young adults and others, Oh said, "We have put forward policy proposals including supporting the Korea Land & Housing Corporation and others with project funds to actively purchase land at specific sites and construct buildings, expanding tax support for young adults' monthly rent, and adjusting interest rates on loans."
Rep. Kim Nam-keun told the mayor, "I say again that the proper order and the right thing to do is to cooperate with the government's proposal to pursue housing projects that can break ground within five years for residents and young adults." He also rejected concerns about the transfer of authority to the autonomous districts, saying, "It will not lead to disorderly development, as the Seoul city government claims."
