Democratic Party candidate Jung Won-oh and People Power Party candidate Oh Se-hoon, both running for Seoul mayor in the June 3 local elections, continued their exchange over real estate policy.
Jung said through his social networking service (SNS) Friday, "Seoul's economic heart has long stopped beating. Among the nation's metropolitan cities and provinces, Seoul's growth rate ranking has fallen to 8th, 10th, and 11th over the three years from 2022 to 2024." He argued, "The reason the capital Seoul is dragging down the nation's overall growth rate is Yongsan."
"The 450,000-square-meter Yongsan rail yard site should have been revitalized into a city where talent and resources from across the nation meet global economic vitality to continuously create new knowledge and jobs," he said. "Yet it has been neglected for more than 15 years." Directing his criticism at Oh, he said, "Why have you left this land in this state during your four terms as Seoul mayor?" He added, "We cannot go the Oh Se-hoon way. The Yongsan International Business District will also remain unsold land for decades." Jung emphasized, "Yongsan is precisely where the United Nations Artificial Intelligence (AI) hub should come. It will become a giant magnet, drawing AI-related organizations and companies from around the world to Yongsan. Yongsan will grow into a global business district surpassing Seongsu."
Oh countered Jung's claims as "the thief scolding the victim." Oh said, "It is absurd to see him make no mention whatsoever of the 10 years during the Moon Jae-in and Park Won-soon administrations when things stood still, and instead claim that things have been at a standstill by combining my previous five years and current five years." He explained, "The Yongsan International Business District development project was progressing smoothly, but it was the Lee Jae-myung administration that unilaterally announced an increase in the housing scale from the agreed 6,000 units to 10,000 units, causing the plan to be delayed by about two years." He added, "It is candidate Jung who has accepted that as is and put forward a pledge to include 10,000 units." He stressed, "Candidate Jung is now taking on the role of an unscrupulous driver who suddenly cuts into a lane where traffic was flowing smoothly, throws the entire lane system into chaos, and then, when an accident happens, blames the driver who had been driving properly — the thief scolding the victim."
Asked by reporters about his position on recent Seoul mayoral election polls, Oh said, "As time passes, the focus will inevitably shift to the competitiveness of the candidates themselves." He added, "To use an analogy, (Jung) seems to be at a stage where, with the nitrogen packaging torn off, the overpackaging is being somewhat stripped away."
