Where Does the Power Lie for the Gangnam District Mayor to Challenge the Seoul Mayor?

Gangnam District Mayors Shin Yeon-hee (5th-6th term) and Jung Soon-gyun (7th term) Show Conflicts with Seoul Mayors Park Won-soon and Oh Se-hoon over Old Seoul Medical Center Site Rental Apartment Construction Issue

Jung Soon-kyun, Mayor of Gangnam District

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gangnam-gu is one of the 25 district offices in Seoul.

However, the mayor of Gangnam-gu appears to be virtually the only district mayor who can express a distinctive stance toward the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

Gangnam-gu is an autonomous district of Seoul but is practically not receiving financial support from the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Because of this, the mayor of Gangnam-gu boldly expresses his position to the mayor of Seoul, drawing attention.

On the 14th, Mayor Jeong Soon-gyun of Gangnam-gu held a press conference at the district office and clearly opposed the change of the district unit plan for the Seoul Medical Center site.

This was a criticism of the government's plan announced in the 8.4 measures to supply 3,000 public housing units on the northern site of Seoul Medical Center, and after Mayor Oh Se-hoon was elected, the plan to build an additional 200 to 300 public housing units there through a land swap with the Songhyeon-dong site.

Mayor Jeong said, "Gangnam-gu demanded the withdrawal of the Seoul Medical Center site public housing plan from the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the 7th because the issue of supplying 3,000 public housing units, which Gangnam residents oppose, has not yet been resolved, but the Seoul Metropolitan Government is proceeding with the public notice for the district unit plan to build additional public housing on the Seoul Medical Center site," adding, "The Seoul Metropolitan Government is pushing forward unilaterally in the process."

As the mayor of Gangnam-gu, he appears to have opposed the construction of rental housing on precious land that residents do not want.

Mayor Jeong Soon-gyun is not the only Gangnam-gu mayor to have conflicts with the mayor of Seoul. During the 5th and 6th local government terms, Shin Yeon-hee, the mayor of Gangnam-gu, had constant conflicts with Mayor Park Won-soon of Seoul.

First, regarding the development method of Guryong Village, Mayor Shin insisted on a public development method, opposing Mayor Park's attempt at private development, and succeeded in implementing it.

Former Mayor Shin experienced various conflicts beyond this issue, which eventually escalated into political problems, leading to unfortunate imprisonment. During this process, exchanges among Seoul Metropolitan Government technical staff were also blocked.

The reason Gangnam-gu mayors have conflicts with the mayor of Seoul seems to be that Gangnam-gu, the only district among Seoul's 25 autonomous districts to enter the 1 trillion won budget era, does not receive financial assistance from Seoul but rather sees its property tax revenue being taken away to other districts like Gangbuk-gu through joint taxation.

In particular, conflicts tend to intensify when the Seoul mayor and the Gangnam-gu mayor belong to different political parties. During the 5th and 6th local government terms, Shin Yeon-hee of the Saenuri Party as Gangnam-gu mayor and Park Won-soon of the Democratic Party as Seoul mayor, and in the 7th local government term, Jeong Soon-gyun of the Democratic Party as Gangnam-gu mayor and Oh Se-hoon of the People Power Party as Seoul mayor, belong to different parties.

Meanwhile, on January 24th, Mayor Jeong Soon-gyun of Gangnam-gu, regarding the Samsung-dong Global Business Center (GBC), stated, "Hyundai Motor Group (hereafter Hyundai) is prioritizing the interests of the company and investors while neglecting regional development," and requested a meeting with Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Eui-sun, insisting that the GBC should be built as originally planned with 105 floors, putting Hyundai Motor Group in a difficult position.

There was criticism that the head of the local government was interfering with a private company’s plan to adjust the scale of the project according to its future corporate vision.

The basic and detailed design plan for Hyundai Motor GBC aimed for completion in 2026 on the former Korea Electric Power Corporation site (74,148㎡), with one 105-floor (569m) tower, one building for accommodation and office facilities, and five facilities including exhibition, convention, and performance halls. However, according to the company’s explanation and recent reports, Hyundai is planning to change the floors to either two 70-floor towers or three 50-floor towers.

As Mayor Jeong Soon-gyun expressed opposition, Hyundai Motor Group is reportedly postponing the project until after next year’s local elections due to the difficult situation.