Jung Won-oh, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Seoul Mayor, pledged to sharply cut the timeline for redevelopment projects from the current 15 years or so to under 10 years. He also vowed to accelerate public redevelopment projects while supplying affordable "value housing" on a large scale.
After touring the Jangwi No. 14 housing redevelopment zone in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul on the 29th, Jung unveiled his real estate policy, dubbed "Chak-Chak Development" (Swift Development).
Jung said he would drastically shorten redevelopment timelines from the current 15 years to under 10 years through regulatory easing, legal revisions, and improved project viability. While rival candidate Oh's "Sintong Planning" (Fast-Track Integrated Planning for Housing Redevelopment) supports projects only up to the designation of redevelopment zones, Jung plans to provide close support across the entire process—from the start of redevelopment to residents moving in—thereby accelerating development.
Jung also plans to significantly improve the profitability of redevelopment and reconstruction projects. He intends to expand areas eligible for floor-area-ratio incentives to include semi-industrial zones, and to raise the pricing standards for rental housing to reduce losses for redevelopment associations. He will also expand the scope of free transfers of state- and public-owned land to developers to offset losses from public contributions. In addition, he pledged to swiftly resolve construction-cost disputes by dispatching verification teams from the Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH) and the Korea Real Estate Board, and to transfer the authority to designate small-scale redevelopment zones (under 500 units) to the autonomous districts to resolve "administrative bottlenecks."
Public redevelopment projects will also be revitalized. In particular, Jung said he would expedite the supply of 32,000 housing units in central Seoul under the Lee Jae-myung administration's housing supply plan. To this end, he plans to break ground early on state- and public-owned land as well as military base sites, and actively push for regulatory easing and legislation to utilize aging permanent rental housing, public office buildings, railway sites, and school sites.
He also pledged to supply "value housing" at affordable prices on a large scale. To this end, he will tap public contributions from private redevelopment projects and pursue supply through equity-accumulation, profit-sharing, and land-lease models. He further promised to swiftly supply villas and officetels in the city center to revitalize the small-housing construction market, and to raise Seoul's annual purchase-and-lease housing supply to between 7,000 and 9,000 units.
Jung pointed out, "During the tenure of Mayor Oh and the Yoon Suk-yeol government, apartment and villa supply in Seoul plunged sharply, with 2022–24 permit counts at just 62% of the prior decade." He emphasized, "We will supply public housing at sale prices and rents that working- and middle-class renters can afford, so that they too can realize their dream of homeownership in Seoul."
Jung's announcement came as Oh pressed him to clarify his stance on the long-term homeowner capital gains tax deduction issue. As Oh ratcheted up pressure by putting real estate tax issues front and center, Jung pivoted the focus to "housing supply" in his counter-offensive.