Oh Sehoon Rebuts Park Joomin's Criticism on Housing Supply: "Do You Think This Is a Bread Factory?... Astonished by Such Ignorance"

Park Joomin Criticizes Oh Sehoon's Housing Supply Approach
Says "Limitations Are Clear" Amid Ongoing Disputes Over Project Feasibility
Calls for Greater Accountability from the Mayor

Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon pushed back against criticism from Park Joomin, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, who claimed there have been no achievements in housing supply, retorting, "Do you think this is a bread factory?"

Yonhap News

On September 6, Mayor Oh posted on social media, directly addressing Assemblyman Park, saying, "There are those who think redevelopment and reconstruction projects churn out houses like a bread factory produces bread." He continued, "It is astonishingly ignorant to ask why there are no results yet, when we have managed to reduce the timeline from 18.5 years to 13 years through the Fast-Track Integrated Planning (Shintong Planning) initiative."

He further pointed out, "We have designated 152 maintenance zones, laying the groundwork for supplying over 210,000 housing units, yet to hear talk about the pace of supply shows a fundamental lack of understanding of residential maintenance projects."

Mayor Oh added, "Groundbreaking only takes place after the maintenance zone is designated, the association is established, all members have moved out, and demolition is completed, so it will still take several more years. Please take note." He went on to say, "Moreover, during the previous mayor's 10-year term, nearly 400 maintenance zones were canceled, eliminating all new housing supply for the next 20 years. What role did you play then?" He concluded, "For the Democratic Party to bring up maintenance projects and housing issues will only backfire, so I advise caution."

On the same day, Assemblyman Park posted on social media, pointing out that although Mayor Oh pledged to supply 240,000 housing units by 2025 upon taking office in 2021, the expected supply based on project approval standards amounts to only about 10,000 units, and by groundbreaking standards, there have been no units supplied through the Fast-Track Integrated Planning initiative.

He further criticized, "Intensified resident conflicts and ongoing debates over project feasibility have clearly exposed the limitations of Oh Sehoon's approach to housing supply," adding, "It is time to stop deceiving Seoul citizens and seriously consider how to responsibly conclude your term as mayor."

The Fast-Track Integrated Planning initiative introduced by Mayor Oh is a maintenance project method in which the public sector supports private-led development from the initial planning stage. This process typically reduces the time required to designate a maintenance zone from about five years to approximately two years.

In response to Assemblyman Park's criticism, the city issued a statement clarifying, "Mayor Oh's pledge is to supply 270,000 units by June 2026, based on zone designation through initiatives like the Fast-Track Integrated Planning." The city added, "To date, 152 zones have already been designated, amounting to about 210,000 units, and by June next year, it is possible to achieve 310,000 units, exceeding the pledge by 116%."