Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon criticized the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 14th for causing delays in Seoul's redevelopment and reconstruction projects due to insufficient cooperation. Oh attended a Cabinet meeting where President Lee Jae-myung requested a report on why Seoul's redevelopment projects are delayed, prompting Oh to directly attribute the delays to lack of coordination from the Ministry of Land and the Financial Services Commission. Oh, attending his first Cabinet meeting after winning his fifth term as Seoul mayor in the June 3 local elections, was unable to deliver his planned remarks on real estate policy as Prime Minister Han Seong-sook requested written submissions instead due to scheduled public debate sessions by ministries.
Oh Se-hoon Attributes Redevelopment Delays to Ministry Coordination Gaps at Cabinet Meeting
At a briefing held at Seoul City Hall after attending the Cabinet meeting on the 14th, Oh stated that President Lee appeared to misunderstand the situation regarding delayed redevelopment and reconstruction projects. Oh said, "Seoul City is making maximum efforts, but the delays are due to insufficient cooperation from the Ministry of Land, which is responsible for detailed redevelopment and reconstruction policies, and the Financial Services Commission, which handles loans."
Oh emphasized that over the past year under the current administration, Seoul City has directly delivered more than 10 requests to the Ministry of Land and submitted materials, but received no response. He expressed disappointment that the president seemed unaware of the Ministry of Land's stance during this period.
During the Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Han requested that Oh submit his opinions in writing rather than verbally, citing scheduled public debate sessions by ministries. Oh submitted a report containing Seoul City's views. President Lee later offered Oh a brief speaking opportunity at the end of the meeting, saying "You haven't been here in a while, please give a short greeting." However, when Oh attempted to raise real estate issues again, President Lee discouraged him, saying "Talk about that later."
Oh stated at the briefing, "I am quite disappointed and deeply regret that I only delivered the report and did not have the opportunity to speak." When asked whether the presidential office intentionally bypassed him, Oh drew a line, saying "I don't want to see it that way." He added that given the president has publicly expressed views on tax reform and housing market stabilization measures multiple times, it would be very uncomfortable for Cabinet members to present contrary opinions.
Seoul City Submits Real Estate Policy Reform Proposals to Government
The report Oh officially submitted to the government on the 14th contains real estate system improvement plans prepared by Seoul City. In the private maintenance project sector, the proposals include raising the loan-to-value ratio (LTV) for relocation expenses to 70%, easing restrictions on transfer of union member status, and expanding the legal maximum floor area ratio for private maintenance projects to 1.2 times.
In the private rental sector, the proposals include easing LTV for purchase-type rental business operators, applying comprehensive real estate tax aggregation exclusion, and introducing a corporate private rental business operator system. In the tax sector, the proposals include freezing the fair market value ratio, maintaining the current long-term holding special deduction, and adjusting the property tax and comprehensive real estate tax base to reflect inflation.
Oh emphasized that regulations preventing purchase-type private rental business operators from receiving loans, which effectively make new rental housing supply impossible, should be eased. He stated that the tax system including comprehensive real estate tax should be reasonably supplemented to increase non-apartment housing supply again.
Oh added that to reduce the excessive tax burden on actual residents, the highest tax rate brackets for property tax and comprehensive real estate tax should be raised.
Presidential Office Confirms Review of Proposal with No Meeting Scheduled
Regarding the report submitted by Oh, the presidential office stated, "We received a real estate policy proposal from the Seoul mayor today (the 14th), and the relevant secretary's office will carefully review it." The office explained, "There are no plans for a separate meeting regarding the proposal at this time."
Oh had previously requested a meeting with President Lee regarding real estate policy.
