[Exclusive] Will Redevelopment Come to a Halt if the Seoul Mayor Changes? Jung Won-oh Responds

From “Unknown” Jung Won-oh to “Top Performer” Jung Won-oh
Pulls Ahead of Incumbent Oh Se-hoon in Head-to-Head Poll
Switches from Saying “District Resident” to “Citizen”
Housing and Transportation Are Seoul’s Most Pressing Issues
Seoul

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong District in Seoul, is considered a leading candidate for Seoul mayor. When he first launched his YouTube channel, "Jung Won-oh TV," on January 3 of this year as a three-term incumbent district mayor, his approval ratings were not particularly noteworthy.

"He may be popular in Seongdong District, but people in other areas don't know him." Despite his extensive administrative experience and numerous achievements, there was frequent talk about his low public profile. Even when asked about running for Seoul mayor, he remained modest about his intentions.

The situation has changed over the past year. He has gained attention as a "top performer" recognized by President Lee Jaemyung, and the achievements of his three terms as district mayor, especially in Seongsu-dong, have increasingly been associated with his name, Jung Won-oh.

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong District (photo), is expected to officially announce his intention to run for Seoul mayor soon. Provided by Seongdong District.

Ultimately, a recent poll on a hypothetical head-to-head race for the next Seoul mayoral election showed Mayor Jung leading the incumbent Mayor Oh Se-hoon by a margin outside the margin of error. According to a poll conducted by Research View at the request of KPI News on December 12-13, targeting 1,000 Seoul residents aged 18 and older, Mayor Jung received 45.2% support, while Mayor Oh received 38.1%.

The public's interest has shifted from "Who is Jung Won-oh?" to "What has he done, and what does he plan to do?" His rivals have also begun to take notice. On December 16, we met Mayor Jung Won-oh at a restaurant in Seongsu-dong. The following is a Q&A from that meeting.

-You have not yet officially announced your candidacy for Seoul mayor.

▲I said I would make my intentions clear this month, so I will announce my decision soon. (A few months ago, when asked by a reporter, I said that using the term "citizen" more than "resident" might indicate a stronger intention to run for mayor.) These days, I mostly use the term "citizen."

-Your name is often mentioned on real estate social networking services (SNS).

▲I have a positive image on real estate SNS platforms within Seongdong District. As a member of the Democratic Party, it's rare to receive praise on real estate SNS. This is likely because the Seongdong District administration has not opposed or suppressed development.

I have actively promoted development not only in Seongsu-dong but throughout Seongdong District, and the results are evident in many areas. In Seongsu-dong, we went beyond urban regeneration and established a district unit plan designating it as an "IT Promotion Zone," raising the floor area ratio from 400% to 560% to drive development. I am so interested and specialized in this field that I am pursuing a doctoral program in urban development management at graduate school.

-There are concerns that if the Seoul mayor changes, many redevelopment and reconstruction projects, such as the Fast-Track Integrated Planning and Moa Town, will face problems.

▲The current initiatives should continue, but we need to accelerate the pace. I recently proposed to the Seoul Metropolitan Government a way to move faster. Some of the authority to designate redevelopment and reconstruction maintenance projects in Seoul should be delegated to district governments, so that district mayors can directly manage projects with fewer than 1,000 households. This would significantly speed up the process.

If managing 1,000 households at once is too much, we can gradually increase the scale in stages, starting with 300 or 500 households. When the authority to designate maintenance zones is concentrated solely with the Seoul mayor, it creates severe bottlenecks. This is one of the fundamental causes of delays in maintenance projects.

-What do you see as the most urgent issue for Seoul's competitiveness?

▲We must start by setting clear goals. Looking back over the past ten years, Seoul has lacked both goals and vision. There has never been a clear vision for what kind of city Seoul aims to become, nor has any leader presented one.

There needs to be a clear goal, such as becoming a "Global G2 City." Just as the West has "New York," Asia should have "Seoul" as its target, competing with cities like Tokyo and Beijing. Only then can citizens rally around that goal and move forward together.

Without a goal, budgets are spent haphazardly and based on whims. With a goal, detailed objectives and policies to achieve it will follow, and each department in Seoul can work toward that goal as if setting national policy indicators.

-Can Seoul become a G2 city just by setting goals?

▲To become a G2 city, we must have advantages that overcome our limitations, such as the North Korea risk. Seoul's economic functions must be strengthened. We should create a mega-city encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon, leveraging the strengths of each city and collaborating on industrial structures and urban development tailored to their characteristics.

Expanding administrative districts as a spatial concept would make Seoul overly large and could cause various side effects. It's not about spatial expansion. The key is to establish a special local government and collaborate functionally. To do this, we must completely overhaul transportation networks and urban planning.

Seongdong-gu, Seoul held the launch ceremony of the 'Seongsu Town Management' last June, marking the beginning of a new local management model where local businesses, landlords, tenants, and residents collaborate with the local government to promote various public-private partnership projects. Provided by Seongdong-gu.

-What are the most pressing current issues?

▲Housing and transportation are the most urgent issues. In particular, since the major changes to Seoul's transportation system during Mayor Lee Myung-bak's tenure-such as the introduction of exclusive bus lanes, the transfer system overhaul, and the quasi-public operation of buses-there have been no significant changes. People even say that the only new thing since then is the "Ddareungi" bike-sharing system, indicating that the system is stagnating beneath the surface.

Despite massive deficits in the Seoul subway system, no solutions have been presented. A major overhaul is needed. Village buses must be connected like capillaries so that citizens can conveniently board them anywhere. Without additional funding from the city, Seoul can use the national K-Pass as a transportation card. For highly congested lines like Subway Line 9, we must actively increase the number of trains. Public transportation must be made more convenient and comfortable.

-You are sometimes called the "Mild Lee Jaemyung."

▲I may not have a "cider" (refreshingly direct) personality, but I'm not a "sweet potato" (frustratingly indirect) either, which is probably why people call me "mild" (laughs). While I try to emulate President Lee Jaemyung's attention to detail and work ethic, my style is not as bold or dramatic, so I can't imitate him exactly.

When I encounter conflicts, I make a tremendous effort to mediate and find a point of agreement. Even if it's not 100% satisfaction, the key in administration is to find a point where everyone can be reasonably satisfied.

<Meanwhile, the poll cited above was conducted using an ARS telephone survey method. The margin of error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, and the response rate was 5.4%. For more details, please refer to the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.>