'Oh Se-hoon Organizational Restructuring Plan' Passed by City Council...Cleared the Hurdle One Month After Submission of the Restructuring Plan

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s proposal to reorganize the Seoul city administration, submitted last month, has finally passed the Seoul Metropolitan Council after some ups and downs.

On the 15th, the Seoul Metropolitan Council held the 301st regular plenary session in the afternoon and approved the partial amendments to the ordinance on the establishment of administrative organizations and the ordinance on the number of public officials as originally proposed. It has been about a month since Mayor Oh submitted the Seoul city reorganization plan to the council.

The mayor’s reorganization plan mainly involves upgrading the Housing Construction Headquarters to the Housing Policy Office to accelerate housing supply, abolishing the Seoul Democracy Commission, and changing the Labor and Livelihood Policy Officer to the Fair Coexistence Policy Officer.

So far, the Seoul city government and the council have been at odds over this reorganization plan. In particular, there were significant disagreements over the abolition of the Seoul Democracy Commission, which was established by the late former Mayor Park Won-soon and holds symbolic significance, and the change of the Labor and Livelihood Policy Officer to the Fair Coexistence Policy Officer. There was also reported opposition to the newly established 'Education Platform Promotion Team,' which was created to fulfill Mayor Oh’s campaign promises. Additionally, the process was delayed after a council member’s family tested positive for COVID-19 on the 10th, when the plenary session was scheduled to handle the reorganization plan.

Earlier that day, it was reported that the Democratic Party members’ closed-door meeting in the council had reached a consensus to pass the reorganization plan. Currently, the Democratic Party holds 101 out of 110 seats in the council, making the results of the members’ meeting almost certain to be reflected in the plenary session.

With the Seoul city reorganization plan successfully passing the council, Mayor Oh will now be able to proceed with personnel appointments starting from grade 3 public officials and sequentially organize the teams responsible for implementing key policies based on the reorganization plan.