After 2 Months in Office, Kim Heon-dong, President of Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH), Has Changed...

Due to a lifetime of activism with the civic group Gyeongsilryeon, including lawsuits against SH over apartment price bubbles, internal staff were worried, but since taking office, a cautious approach has clearly eased employees' concerns.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Kim Heon-dong, president of SH (67), is drawing attention by showing a completely different approach than what was feared at the time of his inauguration.

Kim, who had a strong image due to his lifelong efforts at the civic group Gyeongsilryeon to eliminate apartment sale price bubbles, has been reported to have a very positive internal evaluation as he has focused on communication with employees since his inauguration.

In particular, Kim showed a tough stance during his time at Gyeongsilryeon, even going so far as to file lawsuits against SH, which made employees very tense.

This Kim once failed to pass the SH president recommendation committee. However, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon ultimately pushed through Kim’s appointment as SH president to promote land lease-type (half-price) apartment sales, causing major conflicts with the Seoul Metropolitan Council.

After many twists and turns, Mayor Oh appointed Kim as SH president, and Kim took office on November 15 last year.

More than two months after Kim’s inauguration, positive evaluations of him are emerging internally.

An SH employee said, “President Kim had a strong image of confrontation with the government due to his lifelong civic group activities, so we were worried, but seeing how he treats employees after taking office, he shows a very rational and cautious attitude.”

He added that Kim shows a very positive approach by carefully listening to department opinions before making any decisions.

Kim is known to be considering supplying land lease-type apartments in prime locations such as the former Seoul Medical Center site in Gangnam’s Samseong-dong and the former Seongdong Prison site in Seongdong-gu, which has caused strong opposition from local residents, leading him to take a cautious stance.

Another SH employee said, “This year is a politically sensitive time with the presidential and local elections approaching, so there is no need to create controversy over the land lease issue,” and added, “He seems to be acting cautiously.”

It is also reported that technical preparations are underway for the land lease-type sales.

However, just one month after his inauguration, on the 23rd of last month, Kim made a decisive move by disclosing the construction costs of eight complexes in Naegok 1-dong, Seoul. This was a practice of his belief that public enterprises should not make huge profits through apartment sales.

On the 14th, Kim conducted safety inspections at redevelopment project sites including Godeok Gangil, Wirye, and Magok.

This is interpreted as an intention to prevent incidents in advance, following the negative public opinion caused by the collapse of a mixed-use building under construction in Gwangju Metropolitan City.