Oh Se-hoon: The president’s “self-delusion” won’t change real estate outcomes... Must admit failure

[Financial News] Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon strongly criticized President Lee Jae-myung’s view of real estate policy, urging him to acknowledge the policy failures of the past year and change course. On the 6th, Mayor Oh posted a message on his social media titled “People’s lives are too desperate to watch the president delude himself into thinking he has won,” stating, “Ignoring even the facts and continuing to delude yourself that you’ve won won’t change the policy’s outcomes,” and, “It will only prolong the real estate hell the people are experiencing.”
In particular, he rebutted President Lee’s claim that increases in housing permits and construction starts in Seoul and the capital region were an achievement of government policy. The previous day, President Lee had posted on social media that, thanks to the government’s drive to speed things up, permits—a leading indicator of housing supply in Seoul and the capital region—were increasing.
In response, Mayor Oh said, “It takes an average of at least 10 years from forming an association to starting construction. Does the president have a magic lamp that can produce permits and construction starts in just one year?”
Mayor Oh argued that the recent increase in permits and construction starts was the result of the Seoul Metropolitan Government restoring redevelopment projects to normal. He explained that after 389 projects involving 430,000 housing units were canceled during former Mayor Park Won-soon’s tenure, the city newly designated 214 sites and improved their financial viability. He also outlined plans to start construction on about 15,000 housing units last year, 30,000 this year, and 85,000 units across 85 districts by 2028.
Mayor Oh also took issue with President Lee’s approach to real estate policy. He criticized the president, asking, “What more can we expect from someone who has not moved even one step away from a mindset that views real estate through ideology rather than market principles?” He also responded to President Lee’s remarks suggesting that the public should wait for the results of his real estate policies, saying, “That is not something to say to people whose hearts are breaking as they cannot even find a place to move into right away amid the rental housing crisis.”
He called for a change in policy, saying, “Honestly acknowledge the failure of the past year’s real estate policies, correct the misguided course, and courageously declare that you will start again from square one.”

[email protected] Seong Chorong Reporter