The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) has managed to supply a combined 80,000 housing units since Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon took office 200 days ago.
In particular, SMG publicly complained that the central government’s refusal to ease construction restrictions against the private sector has dampened the speed of housing supply.
SMG said in a meeting with reporters on Nov. 4, “Supplying 80,000 housing units is under way through a housing supply plan, worked out by Mayor Oh, 200 days in office.”
The figure breaks down into 17,000 units being supplied under a refurbishment scheme, 48,000 units in permission stages prior to the launch of construction, and 17,000 units in stages of launching and dedicating construction projects.
In particular, redevelopment has been slowed down with the designation of an annual average of less than one redevelopment project case by the current government since its inauguration.
Since Mayor Oh took office, SMG has boosted redevelopment projects by taking six steps to ease restrictions against redevelopment projects.
These steps have paid off: They have gained popularity in designating 25 out of 102 redevelopment district project candidates participating in public contests.
Kim Sung-bo, head of the Hosing Policy office at SMG, said, “SMG has devoted itself for the past 200 days to normalizing administrative procedures to supply 80,000 units, which have been blocked, and we’ll make all-out efforts to achieve the plan.”
SMG will concentrate its capabilities on achieving a goal of supplying 800,000 units by 2030, Kim said.
SMG disclosed its displeasure over an opposition by Minister Noh Hyung-wook of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) against the easing of construction against refurbishment projects.
Kim, chief of the Hosing Policy office at SMG, said, “If the government’s restrictions work, markets should have shown signs of normalization, but housing prices and jeonse woes have not be rectified.”
It is more important to maintain a unswerving policy of supplying apartments on a constant basis, not temporarily, he added.
Meanwhile, Mayor Oh toured the site of redeveloping the decrepit Hagye 5 Apartment Complex in Nowon-gu on the occasion of his 200 days in office.
The apartment complex, dedicated in 1989, is the nation’s first permanent rental apartment complex. It is now an exemplary redevelopment project SMG is implementing with SH Corp.
Currently, there are a combined 34 worn-out apartment permanent rental and public rental complexes with a combined 40,000 units, dedicated during the 1980s and 1990s.
Out of the total, 17 apartment complexes with 25,000 units will reach 30 years after their dedication in three years.
SMG is implementing pilot projects to refurbish rental apartments whose dedication was made 30 years ago to improve their stark housing environment and expand public housing units.
Mayor Oh said, “I’ve come here to the Hagye 5 Complex, the first one to be redeveloped among the permanent rental apartment complexes.”
The current longevity of rental apartments is about 35 years, but I want to make a work (apartments) that can be utilized for 100 years,” the mayor said.
SMG plans to expand the current 640 units of the Hagye 5 Apartment Complex to 1,510 units and unveil a new vision of public housing in which life infrastructure such as parks is expanded.
Starting with the Hagye 5 Apartment Complex, SMG plans to implement 34 old rental and public apartment complex on a gradual basis.
These are expected to expand the number of public rental apartment units from 40,000 to 50,000.
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