Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon criticized President Lee Jae-myung's recent comment that he has "no solution" for rising housing prices in Seoul and the metropolitan area, saying it was "something he should not have said."
After attending a resident meeting in the Daelim 1 district redevelopment zone in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on Saturday, Oh told reporters that such remarks could affect market psychology. "Market participants may think even the government has no viable options, which could trigger buying sentiment," he said.
President Lee made the comment during a town hall meeting at Korea University of Technology and Education in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, on Monday. "I've been taking a lot of criticism over housing prices in Seoul and the metropolitan area, and looking at the situation, I have no solution," Lee said at the time. He added that "structural factors" make the issue difficult to resolve despite mobilizing "all available wisdom and policy resources."
Oh warned that such remarks could lead to instability and rising prices in the real estate market. He pointed to the housing supply expansion policies during the Lee Myung-bak administration, including the designation of New Town districts across Seoul, as an example of effective price stabilization.
"At that time, the large-scale designation of New Town districts sent a signal to the market that new housing would be supplied, and if you look at the housing price graph from that period, prices were quite stable," Oh said.
He also criticized the current administration's October 15 housing measures, saying they "may have the effect of blocking even normal real estate transactions, but they were not measures that provided confidence in supply."
Regarding the ruling party's proposal to expand housing supply in the Yongsan International Business District, Oh said the current plan calls for approximately 6,000 units. "Doubling that to 12,000 units is entirely possible, but doing so would significantly slow down the timeline," he explained.
"If the number of units increases, schools and various basic infrastructure needed for daily life must follow," Oh said. "In that case, the master plan would need to be redrawn, and the existing supply schedule would inevitably be delayed."
"If we give up speed and emphasize volume, housing supply will actually be delayed," Oh added. "I hope there will be a reasonable discussion about how much we can increase within a range that does not slow down the timeline."
