Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon.

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon has pledged to focus on expanding public housing during his remaining three years in office.

Park, a three-term mayor of Seoul, is likely to join the next presidential race. He says he will focus on policies that directly improve citizens' lives – such as housing and childcare services – amid the country's prolonged economic slump.

“With the Korean economy faltering, Seoul City will do its best to address problems regarding people's economic livelihoods – the most important part of this effort being public housing.” Park told reporters.

The preliminary plan is to provide 25,000 new public housing units each year, mainly for newlywed couples and young graduates who lack affordable rent options in the city. He want sot help them break into the housing market, which is priced way above the average income, unlike other living expenses here. Due to this, many are pushed out to the surrounding areas in Gyeonggi Province or Incheon and must spend hours commuting to Seoul each day.

“I’m planning to spend more (on public housing).” Park said. “Except in cases where one's capital or earnings reach a level where providing public housing is socially unacceptable. The idea is to give public housing to at least half of the 50,000 newlywed couples each year.”
Government-led affordable and social housing plans should cover not just low-income but middle-class residents as well, Park added, citing the example of Vienna and Singapore.

As of May 2019, the number of public housing units in Seoul was 306,285, up 70 percent from 2011 when Park was first elected to head the Seoul Metropolitan Government, according to the city's housing policy division.

Public housing will make up around 10 percent of the housing market in Seoul by 2022 if Mayor Park manages to bring the number of public housing units up to 400,000 in his remaining term.

Seoul now employs two types of housing policies for young people and newlyweds. One, by providing various types of social housing priced below the market rate, and two, by providing low-interest mortgages needed for rent deposits or jeonse (lump-sum deposit).

In the case of the former, public housing units are built and managed directly by government-owned constructors LH and SH, while others are built through public-private partnerships where private real estate developers mix subsidized housing and market-rate units into one building in return for incentives from the city government, such as permission to build more floors.

“As do most Koreans, Seoul residents consider the uncertainty related to housing to be the biggest threat to their livelihoods.” Park said. “By solving housing and childcare problems, we will achieve a society where each person can properly invest in their development and realize their full potential.” “I assume you have heard of ‘Gangnam Style’,” says Park Won-soon, the Mayor of Seoul.

The glamorous Gangnam district of Seoul has gained international fame from Korean pop music. But the Mayor’s focus is on Gangnam’s neglected neighbour - an area to the north of the Han river called Gangbuk.

In July, as Park began his third term as the Mayor of Seoul, he left his official residence and moved into a low-cost house in Gangbuk for a month to experience life as a local citizen. “The reason I did it came from the judgement that problems could only be observed and solved by putting myself right in the middle of the citizens’ lives.” he said.

A view of the planned public housing to be built by Seoul City in the edges of the Seoul area for lease to the newly weds in Seoul. (Photos: Seoul Metropolitan Government)