Jung Won-oh Says He Will Back Regulatory Reform at the Exchange, While Oh Se-hoon Vows to Expand Station Area Development [the June 3 local elections]

Jung Won-oh of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and Oh Se-hoon of the People Power Party, both candidates for Seoul Metropolitan City mayor, appealed to voters on the 4th by highlighting stocks and real estate, respectively. Jung sought to create a halo effect by portraying the KOSPI Composite Index nearing 7,000 as an achievement of the Lee Jae-myung administration and the Democratic Party, while Oh promised to more than double the number of sites for station area development.
Earlier in the day, Jung visited the Korea Exchange (KRX) in Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul, and pointed to the KOSPI Composite Index surpassing 6,900. "Some said it was impossible, but the Democratic Party is leading the way and making it a reality," he said. "We are witnessing the shift to productive finance. The question is what Seoul should do in this process. We will support it through administrative services, including regulatory reform."
Han Jeoung-ae, the Democratic Party's Policy Committee Chairperson, who attended the meeting, said Seoul's role is important in connection with the government's policy direction of channeling money tied up in real estate into the stock market. "The more Seoul's real estate policies stabilize housing prices, the greater the room for funds to move into the capital market," she said. "Seoul's real estate regulations directly affect household asset allocation and are also linked to demand and supply in the KOSPI."
By contrast, Oh visited the committee promoting the Onsu station Station Area Revitalization Project in Guro District, Seoul, on the same day and pledged to speed up real estate development. Unlike the government and ruling party, which are seeking to drive a money move through tighter real estate regulations, Oh's plan is to stabilize housing prices by sharply increasing supply through more active real estate development.
"We will boldly ease floor area ratio limits to improve profitability and allow investment to proceed with confidence," Oh said. As a specific measure, he explained, "Previously, half of the increased floor area ratio was recovered as public contribution, but we will lower that to 30% to significantly improve project feasibility." He added, "Over the past five years since I took office as Seoul mayor, the number of station area revitalization sites has increased 4.7 times, but there is still a long way to go. We will more than double the number of project areas from 153 districts to 325."
uknow@fnnews.com Kim Yun-ho, Lee Seol-young Reporter