Oh Se-hoon "Fairness and Coexistence, Bold Innovation for Rejumping as a Globally Competitive City"... Inauguration Ceremony at DDP

Inaugural Speech on the 22nd Highlights Government's 'Uniform Business Restrictions,' 'Real Estate Policy Failures,' and 'Youth Generation Issues'
"Will Improve Quarantine Rules, Increase Emergency Loans and Support for Small Business Owners"... Also Proposes 'Youth Seoul'
"Reevaluate Urban Planning Regulations from Scratch... Develop Long-Term Rental Housing and SHIFT Projects to Supply Housing"
Measures for Single-Person Households to Be Promoted, Task Force Established for Solutions... 'Seoul Vision 2030 Committee' to Be Formed in May to Enhance Urban Competitiveness

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is giving a greeting at a meeting with young startups held on the 21st at Seoul Startup Hub in Mapo-gu, Seoul. After listening to the challenges, difficulties, and success stories of young startups, Mayor Oh sought ways to qualitatively innovate the youth startup environment. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] “The heart of South Korea, Seoul, can beat again. To leap forward as a city with global competitiveness, we will boldly implement innovations for the future.”

On the 22nd, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon expressed this ambition at his inauguration ceremony held at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) video studio ‘Seoul-On’. It was just half a month after his inauguration in August. The ceremony was attended by Kim In-ho, Chairperson of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, Lee Dong-jin, Chairman of the District Mayors’ Council, among others.

Mayor Oh cited statistics showing that only 14.3% of Seoul’s youth believe that “society is fair,” pointing out the government’s uniform business restrictions due to COVID-19, failures in real estate policies, and issues facing the younger generation regarding employment, marriage, and childbirth.

He emphasized, “Seoul, South Korea, has been in hibernation for a considerable period,” adding, “The prolonged uniform business restrictions due to COVID-19 have pushed self-employed and small business owners to the brink, and vulnerable groups have experienced a fall without any safety net.”

He continued, “The government’s failure in real estate policy has plunged all citizens into ‘real estate depression,’” noting, “Homeowners have been hit by a tax bombshell, while those without homes feel despair and deprivation as their dream of owning a home becomes distant.”

In response, he announced plans to improve the uniform quarantine rules as Seoul Mayor and increase emergency loans and support for small business owners. Mayor Oh said, “We will prepare rational improvements to the uniform quarantine rules and discuss closely with the government to implement them. We will increase emergency loans and support for small business owners and seek practical support measures for traditional markets, neighborhood commercial districts, as well as tourism and cultural industries that have suffered significant damage.”

He also unveiled plans to create ‘Youth Seoul’ based on fairness and coexistence so that the younger generation can have hope. Mayor Oh stated, “It has become even harder for young people to have hope in Seoul. Seoul will take the lead in preparing policies for the 2030 generation based on coexistence and fairness, creating a city where fair opportunities lead to just rewards.”

He reiterated his commitment to re-examining urban planning regulations from scratch and supplying quality housing by developing long-term lease housing and the Shift project. However, he added that measures to block real estate speculation will be implemented simultaneously, including designating land transaction permission zones and intensively investigating market disruption activities.

He said, “Extraordinary measures are needed. We will promptly supply quality housing where citizens need it and re-examine urban planning regulations that have been maintained out of custom from the ground up.” He emphasized, “We will develop the long-term lease housing and Shift projects, which started 10 years ago but have since deteriorated, to support housing stability for ordinary citizens.”

He also mentioned plans to promote measures for single-person households, having recently formed a task force (TF) team to take the first step. Mayor Oh plans to consolidate policies that were previously pursued separately by departments into a single TF for special measures for single-person households, preparing comprehensive measures covering cultural and economic support.

Furthermore, to enhance urban competitiveness, he announced plans to form and operate the ‘Seoul Vision 2030 Committee’ in May. The committee will be divided into five subcommittees: global competitiveness, safety and security, balanced development, living infrastructure, and fairness and coexistence, to develop feasible agendas and alternatives.

He said, “The five major anxieties faced by single-person households are safety, illness, poverty, loneliness, and housing issues,” adding, “We will create a Seoul where single-person households can be happy.” He also added, “By forming the Seoul Vision 2030 Committee, we will once again raise Seoul’s urban competitiveness.”

Meanwhile, the DDP, where the inauguration ceremony was held, is a landmark project initiated during Mayor Oh’s previous term in 2008 as part of the ‘Design Seoul’ project but was left incomplete due to his mid-term resignation in August 2011 after pushing forward a controversial free school meal referendum. Mayor Oh said, “Over 10 years ago, we created the brand ‘Design Seoul’ to elevate the tangible and intangible environments surrounding citizens’ lives to a higher level. I am deeply moved to hold the inauguration ceremony at the DDP, which has now become a world-renowned landmark.”