Newly appointed Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visits the Jung-gu temporary screening clinic installed at Seoul Station Plaza on the morning of the 10th and greets the officials. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] On the 10th, newly appointed Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced that he would instruct the city to push for a re-investigation of the publicly announced prices of apartment complexes. This clearly indicates his opposition to the government's real estate policy stance, making a confrontation between Mayor Oh and the government inevitable.
After visiting the Seoul Station COVID-19 temporary screening center on the same day, Mayor Oh told reporters, "A sharp increase in publicly announced prices leads not only to a steep rise in taxes but also affects more than 60 economic burdens in daily life, including health insurance premiums," adding, "Seoul City must clearly state its position on this."
He continued, "In cases where a certain degree of re-investigation is necessary, it is first essential to conduct the re-investigation to establish grounds for why the prices should be frozen," and said, "Early next week, during the process of identifying related tasks, I will instruct a thorough review."
However, even if Seoul City finds errors in the publicly announced prices through re-investigation, it is unlikely that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will reflect these findings and make corrections.
Previously, Seocho-gu in Seoul and Jeju Province urged a re-investigation, claiming errors in price assessments, but the Ministry of Land dismissed these claims, stating there were no issues.
In this situation, with Seoul City also preparing to raise concerns about price assessments in earnest, a fierce dispute between the Ministry and local governments is expected to intensify.
Meanwhile, amid confrontations with the government over real estate policies such as easing reconstruction and redevelopment regulations, related negotiations following the first Cabinet meeting next week are expected to be far from smooth.
Since it is difficult to lead city administration without the cooperation of the city council, where the ruling party holds an overwhelming majority, Mayor Oh has lowered his stance, appealing for full support from the council, but he remains principled. In particular, regarding the Gwanghwamun Plaza restructuring project, which Mayor Oh mentioned during his candidacy as a project that should have been halted, he warned that stopping construction now would only cause confusion and that it is not something that can be stopped at the mayor’s discretion.
While Mayor Oh has been cautious and reserved after his election, simultaneously showing a probing approach, the preliminary battle with the city council is expected to take place at the city council’s extraordinary session starting on the 19th.
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