Seoul mayor's housing proposal faces opposition from ruling party

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's proposal to develop housing on the Tancheon Water Recycling Center site has met with strong opposition from the Democratic Party, which insists that the Yongsan Park development must also proceed.

The ruling party's floor leader, Han Byung-do, emphasized the urgent need for housing supply, stating, "What the public needs most now is the speed of supply." He argued that both the Tancheon site and the Yongsan Park site should be explored for housing solutions for young people and the underprivileged. Han criticized Mayor Oh's stance, questioning how the public could accept his refusal to even discuss the Yongsan Park site.

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Tancheon should be used as Tancheon, and Yongsan should be used as Yongsan; we must find ways to utilize them for the housing of youth and the common people.

Mayor Oh had previously suggested the Tancheon site, a 392,000-square-meter area in Ilwon-dong, Gangnam District, as an alternative to Yongsan Park for housing development during a meeting with the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport. However, Democratic Party lawmakers have dismissed this proposal as unrealistic. Rep. Kim Young-bae, chairman of the party's Seoul chapter, called it "schematic politics," suggesting that developing the Tancheon site would only be feasible in about ten years, if at all.

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How can the public accept Mayor Oh Se-hoon's attitude of refusing to even discuss a specific site? We will not be swayed by the irresponsible time-wasting of Mayor Oh Se-hoon and the People Power Party and will definitely finalize the follow-up legislation to the government's supply measures.

Despite the criticism, some within the Democratic Party have shown a more flexible approach. Rep. Kim Won-i, a strategy planning committee member, suggested the need for a "flexible attitude" towards Mayor Oh's proposal. Meanwhile, Minister Kim Hyun-mee reiterated the government's plan to build housing on parts of the Yongsan Park site, specifically mentioning hospital land beneath the Children's Garden as a potential location.

Mayor Oh, however, remains firm in his position. During a question-and-answer session at the Seoul City Council, he reiterated that Yongsan Park is a green space reserved for future generations, reinforcing his view that the Tancheon Water Recycling Center site is a viable alternative for housing development.

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The Tancheon Water Recycling Center, proposed by Mayor Oh as an alternative, is actually impossible to supply housing without relocation, yet he is engaging in schematic politics as if it can be supplied. The Tancheon Water Recycling Center's implementation is a 허황된 (fictional/unrealistic) political claim that might only happen in 10 years.