Seoul Mayor Urges Shift in Housing Policy to Prioritize Supply Expansion

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is urging the national government to pivot its housing policy, shifting the emphasis from taxation and homeownership requirements to a more robust expansion of housing supply. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Oh stated, "I urge the policy's center of gravity to more clearly shift from 'taxes and real ownership' to 'sufficient and continuous supply expansion.'"

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I urge the policy's center of gravity to more clearly shift from 'taxes and real ownership' to 'sufficient and continuous supply expansion.'

Oh welcomed the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport's recent announcement of measures to quickly supply housing and stabilize the rental and sales markets. These measures include supporting the commencement of construction for 234,000 housing units in redevelopment and reconstruction projects by 2030 and lowering the consent rate for establishing redevelopment associations from 75% to 70%. However, the mayor expressed deep regret that Seoul, which executes a significant portion of these housing supply and redevelopment projects, was not sufficiently consulted beforehand.

"It is undesirable to receive results unilaterally while Seoul, which executes a substantial part of housing supply and redevelopment projects on the ground, is virtually excluded from the policy-making process," Oh stated, emphasizing the need for thorough prior consultation and close policy cooperation between the central government and Seoul. He pointed out that measures such as easing restrictions on the transfer of cooperative membership, easing zoning ratio regulations for private redevelopment projects, and easing the proportion of rental housing in redevelopment projects were not included in the government's plan.

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It is undesirable to receive results unilaterally while Seoul, which executes a substantial part of housing supply and redevelopment projects on the ground, is virtually excluded from the policy-making process.

While acknowledging that the current measures might offer some relief to redevelopment sites, Oh argued that they would not fully resolve the difficulties faced by the industry. He called for bold regulatory improvements that would substantially enhance project profitability and shorten construction periods. Furthermore, Oh demanded a comprehensive review of the government's real estate policies, including tax reforms, stating that a "real-name ownership obsession policy" needs a complete reevaluation to address the current instability in the lease market and the rental crisis. He cautioned that adding exceptions to policies whenever problems arise would only exacerbate market confusion.

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a 'real-name ownership obsession policy' needs a complete reevaluation to address the current instability in the lease market and the rental crisis.