What Is the Reason Behind Oh Se-hoon and Kim Heon-dong's Obsession with SH President?

Mayor Oh pushed former Kyungsillyeon head Kim Heon-dong, who failed the second interview, through the third round to become the top CEO candidate, interpreted as Kim's intention to build his real estate brand via 'land lease' sales and create assets for his future presidential bid, drawing attention.

Oh Se-hoon, Mayor of Seoul

Kim Heon-dong, former head of the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (Source: Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Why is Mayor Oh Se-hoon so obsessed with former Civic Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) Director Kim Heon-dong?

Questions are being raised as it has been reported that Mayor Oh supported Kim Heon-dong, who was eliminated in the second round of interviews for the Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH) president candidate, to apply again and pass the third interview in first place.

It was revealed through statements from the Seoul Metropolitan Council that after former SH president candidate Kim Hyun-ah was eliminated, Mayor Oh encouraged former Director Kim to apply as her successor.

In particular, the relationship between Mayor Oh and former Director Kim is known to be very close.

It seems natural that the reason why Mayor Oh is fixated on former Director Kim, who ranked last among four candidates in the second interview, has become a matter of interest.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is expected to recommend former Director Kim as the SH president candidate to the Seoul Metropolitan Council next week, and the Kim Heon-dong SH president system is likely to be launched soon.

Even if the Seoul Metropolitan Council raises objections through a hearing, it will not be a problem for Mayor Oh to appoint former Director Kim as SH president.

Then why is Mayor Oh so obsessed with former Director Kim, who left Ssangyong Construction as a manager and joined CCEJ to live his life as a real estate-related civic activist?

Former Director Kim is believed to have caught Mayor Oh’s attention for his strong criticism of the Moon Jae-in administration’s “demand suppression-centered real estate policy,” which ignored reality and caused a surge in real estate prices.

Mayor Oh holds a philosophy that emphasizes stabilizing the real estate market through supply expansion based on a market economy-centered real estate policy.

Meanwhile, former Director Kim has argued that SH has pursued a sales-centered policy, reaping huge development profits while neglecting to reduce the real estate burden on ordinary citizens.

Accordingly, former Director Kim emphasized that if he becomes SH president, he would implement “land leasehold” sales, enabling 30-pyeong (approximately 99 square meters) apartments in Gangnam to be sold for about 300 million KRW.

If former Director Kim’s land leasehold sales allow 30-pyeong apartments in Gangnam (where the land is owned by SH and the building is sold at about 10 million KRW per pyeong) to be sold for around 300 million KRW, it is expected to create a significant impact.

Is it possible to purchase a 30-pyeong apartment in Gangnam for around 300 million KRW? If this happens, an enormous competition for sales is expected. Even if the land is not owned by the buyer, just having a home in Gangnam would be a dream come true for the Seoul middle class.

This could also help stabilize the skyrocketing housing prices in Gangnam and other parts of Seoul.

If former Director Kim becomes SH president and establishes a pilot complex in the Gangnam area, it would immediately become a model for Oh Se-hoon’s real estate policy, and Mayor Oh could secure a significant asset for his future political career.

It is predicted that this would also be a major asset for Mayor Oh’s path toward the next presidential race.

A Seoul Metropolitan Council official said in a phone interview on the 2nd, “I don’t understand why Mayor Oh is so obsessed with former Director Kim,” and analyzed, “Perhaps he is trying to create his own real estate brand through land leasehold sales.”

Meanwhile, Mayor Oh is pushing forward without regard to the fierce opposition from the Democratic Party-controlled Seoul Metropolitan Council, appointing Ahn Ho-sang, Dean of the Graduate School of Performing Arts at Hongik University, as president of Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, which has been criticized in connection with the Park Geun-hye administration’s cultural blacklist.

Since the local elections are just around the corner next year, Mayor Oh is expected to continue his “my way” approach without considering the Seoul Metropolitan Council’s opposition.

In particular, it is reported that when appointing heads of Seoul Metropolitan Government-affiliated organizations, Mayor Oh personally meets and notifies them.