On this day, the Housing Construction Headquarters and Work Report
However, requested measures to prevent house price increases
No particular stance on official prices, etc.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is holding a press briefing on COVID-19 at Seoul City Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 12th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] Oh Se-hoon, the newly appointed mayor of Seoul, received his first briefing on real estate and decided to promote policies to revitalize maintenance projects such as reconstruction and redevelopment.
According to Seoul City on the 12th, Mayor Oh received his first briefing from the Housing and Architecture Headquarters, checked laws and procedures to promote speedy housing supply, and instructed the preparation of detailed implementation plans that can be independently pursued. This is interpreted as evidence that Mayor Oh views housing supply as the most urgent issue. In addition to the Housing and Architecture Headquarters, the Urban Planning Bureau and the Urban Regeneration Office also participated in the briefing.
Kim Seong-bo, head of Seoul City's Housing and Architecture Headquarters, said to reporters after the briefing, "Mayor Oh asked for a report on ways to supply housing carefully and quickly so that a housing supply signal can be sent (to the market)," adding, "We plan to continuously develop and announce policies related to revitalizing redevelopment." To expedite policy implementation, Mayor Oh will receive related reports weekly or as needed from the headquarters.
During his candidacy, Mayor Oh prioritized normalizing reconstruction and redevelopment, pledging to abolish the regulation limiting apartment buildings along the Han River to 35 floors or less and to ease floor area ratio regulations in residential areas of Seoul. Through this, 185,000 housing units are planned to be supplied by the private sector.
However, the recent rise in housing prices in areas such as Gangnam, Jamsil, Yeouido, and Mok-dong amid moves to ease reconstruction regulations is a cause for concern. Accordingly, Mayor Oh ordered the preparation of separate preventive measures for areas where real estate price increases are a concern. Head Kim said, "We listened to the current status of major reconstruction complexes and Han River redevelopment, and since price instability may occur if projects proceed, we asked for separate measures to be prepared for that." There were no specific mentions regarding details such as the abolition of the 35-floor regulation.
Regarding criticism that the speedy housing supply policy conflicts with the government's housing supply policy led by public development, it was explained that this does not mean confrontation with the government. Head Kim emphasized, "We share the same goal with the government to supply housing. We see this as a fresh start for areas where procedures have been stalled, and we will carefully and thoroughly consider side effects before proceeding."
Mayor Oh opposes the government's excessive official property price realization, but he did not express any special stance during this briefing. However, it was conveyed that he requested Seoul City to logically organize the rapid increase in official property prices, which has caused much public dissatisfaction.
Regarding the Gwanghwamun Square restructuring project, "There was a report on the progress of construction, and I asked for detailed reports with alternatives to address issues sufficiently over the next 2 to 3 months," he said.
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