Oh Se-hoon: “President Lee must abandon the idea that public development is a cure-all... If you’re sincere, come to Changsin-dong”

[Financial News] Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon criticized President Lee Jae Myung’s visit to a public redevelopment site, saying, “He should abandon the idea that public development is a cure-all and first listen to residents who are desperately waiting for redevelopment.”
On the 4th, Mayor Oh posted a statement on Facebook titled “If you’re serious about redevelopment projects, come to Changsin-dong too,” making the remarks above.
Earlier that day, President Lee Jae Myung visited a public redevelopment site in Jangwi-dong, Seongbuk District, and said, “When the public sector takes the lead, projects move faster and the potential for corruption is reduced, but there are still many efforts to put the private sector in charge.” He added, “This is all because of so-called corruption.”
In response, Mayor Oh said, “He has revealed a biased view of the private and public sectors,” and countered, “It is private-sector projects, and nothing else, that have accounted for about 90% of Seoul’s housing supply over the past three years. Ignoring the role of private development means ignoring the core of housing supply.” He went on to argue that President Lee should have told the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to abandon the outdated dichotomy that “private development means speculation, while public development means supply,” and to speed up all urban renewal projects.

Mayor Oh pointed out that the area of Jangwi-dong visited by President Lee is precisely the kind of place that starkly illustrates the problems caused by the unilateral cancellation of redevelopment-district designations during the tenure of former Mayor Park Won-soon. He said the residential environments in areas where redevelopment went ahead and areas whose designations were lifted had diverged dramatically, despite being separated by just one road.
He also cited Changsin-dong in Jongno District as a prominent example of the damage caused by halted urban renewal projects.
Mayor Oh said, “After the New Town designation was lifted, about 87 billion won was squandered in the Changsin-Sungin Urban Renewal Promotion District in the name of urban regeneration, yet the dilapidated houses that look ready to collapse and the narrow alleyways remain unchanged.”
He also criticized the fact that, although the Seoul Metropolitan Government recently paved the way for redevelopment through Rapid Integrated Planning, the effort has once again been thrown into uncertainty since a Democratic Party-affiliated Jongno District mayor took office. He said, “Residents of Changsin Zones 9 and 10 gathered support from at least 75% of residents, exceeding the legal threshold, but after delaying the process for months, the Jongno District Office is demanding that they collect consent forms all over again.” He added, “Is it proper administration to send residents’ efforts and hopes back to square one?”
Finally, Mayor Oh urged President Lee to “visit Changsin-dong and hear firsthand why redevelopment and reconstruction are so desperately needed, and how irresponsible administration makes residents’ lives more painful.” He stressed, “Otherwise, the government’s ‘just supply’ slogan—literally, ‘shut up and supply’—will be nothing but empty words that ignore people’s desperation.”
[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter