[Park Jong-il Autonomous News] Kim In-ho - Oh Se-hoon 'Janggun' 'Meonggun' Cooperative Governance Moves 'Positive Evaluation'

Kim In-ho, Chair of Seoul Metropolitan Council, Raises Issues on Sejongno Gwanghwamun Plaza Development and Free Kindergarten Meals; Mayor Oh Se-hoon Responds, Continuing Cooperative Efforts... Increased Likelihood of Agreement on Han River 35-Story Height Limit Relaxation Also Draws Attention

On the first day of his work last month on the 8th, Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited Kim In-ho, the chairman of the city council, to request cooperation.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Kim In-ho, Chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, and Oh Se-hoon, Mayor of Seoul, are drawing attention by proposing and accepting key policies from each other, providing reassurance to the citizens of Seoul.

Among the 110 Seoul Metropolitan Council members, 101 belong to the Democratic Party of Korea, holding the majority, while Mayor Oh was elected through the April 7 by-election and is currently in charge of Seoul's administration.

Because of this, on the morning of his first day at Seoul City Hall on the 8th of last month, Mayor Oh visited Chairman Kim In-ho and showed a ‘humble attitude’ by bowing his head and requesting cooperation.

In response, Chairman Kim also replied, “If the city administration is carried out for the citizens of Seoul, I will not hesitate to cooperate.”

This display of mutual respect between the Mayor of Seoul and the Chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, who are like co-leaders steering Seoul’s administration, gave the citizens a sense of stability.

The start was promising.

This ‘ceremonial movement’ was backed by policy actions. Chairman Kim appeared on a broadcast and raised concerns first, mindful of Mayor Oh’s election promise to reverse the project, stating, “The Sejongno Gwanghwamun Plaza development project, which involves a massive budget, should continue as planned.”

Later, Mayor Oh responded, “The Gwanghwamun Plaza development project, which has hundreds of millions of won of Seoul citizens’ budget invested, will continue with some modifications.”

Also, through his opening remarks at the 100th Seoul Metropolitan Council extraordinary session that ended on the 4th, Chairman Kim demanded the implementation of ‘free meals in kindergartens.’

Mayor Oh responded during a briefing at City Hall after attending a Cabinet meeting that day, saying, “We will implement free meals in kindergartens.”

This marked a complete change from 10 years ago when Mayor Oh opposed universal free school meals and resigned from his mayoral position.

By exchanging ‘proposals and responses’ on major policy issues like this, Seoul’s administration is expected to proceed more stably.

Alongside this, Mayor Oh faces a major challenge of increasing apartment supply through reconstruction by lifting the ‘35-floor height restriction along the Han River.’

Regarding this, Chairman Kim recently stated in an interview with a media outlet that he would not insist unconditionally on the ‘35-floor height restriction.’

However, he added the condition that Seoul City must present reasonable alternatives such as ‘public contributions.’

In this way, reaching agreements without major difficulties on significant issues such as the Gwanghwamun Plaza structural project, free kindergarten meals, and easing height restrictions along the Han River seems sufficient to provide relief to citizens witnessing the ‘uneasy coexistence’ between the ruling party council and the opposition mayor.

These movements are also expected to lead to an agreement on the reorganization of the Seoul City administration.

This is interpreted as Chairman Kim In-ho taking the public sentiment expressed in the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election seriously and continuing a cooperative approach with Mayor Oh Se-hoon from a more flexible standpoint.

Mayor Oh is also analyzed to be dealing with the council, his partner, with a more mature attitude from a practical perspective rather than clinging to his election pledges.

A Seoul Metropolitan Council member positively evaluated, “Since Mayor Oh’s election, it seems that Chairman Kim has continued cooperation without major issues.”

A Seoul citizen said, “This cooperative appearance of Mayor Oh and Chairman Kim gives me reassurance as a citizen,” and advised, “I hope they also join forces on livelihood measures to reduce citizens’ tax burdens caused by soaring real estate prices.”

Of course, politics is unpredictable, and it is uncertain whether new issues will arise causing confrontation between Mayor Oh and Chairman Kim again.

Nonetheless, there is hope that both will fulfill their roles for the ‘greater good of the citizens.’