Oh Se-hoon of the People Power Party's Seoul mayoral campaign on the 30th took aim at Democratic Party of Korea candidate Chong Won-o's redevelopment and reconstruction pledge, dubbed "step-by-step development," saying the campaign should first present measures for relocation loans for maintenance projects.
Spokesperson Park Yong-chan of the Oh Se-hoon campaign said in a commentary that day, "(The candidate) said he would drastically shorten the period for reconstruction and redevelopment maintenance projects to 10 years to expand Seoul's supply of dwellings, but he failed to present a convincing blueprint for how he would shorten the project period."
He added, "It is nothing but a fiction akin to building a house without a blueprint, and some even say it is an election ploy to evade criticism that the Democratic Party is hostile to reconstruction and redevelopment," stressing, "If there is a will to push reconstruction and redevelopment swiftly, the campaign must urgently present measures first for the 'relocation loan chaos' unfolding in current maintenance project zones."
He went on, "Right now, across many reconstruction and redevelopment complexes in Seoul, numerous residents are in an uproar because they cannot properly secure relocation funds, leading to a rash of cases where maintenance projects are suspended or delayed," criticizing, "It is because relocation loan financing has effectively been blocked by the June 27 and Oct. 15 real estate regulations released last year by the Lee Jae-myung administration."
Spokesperson Park said, "Two-home owners with unavoidable livelihood needs are not receiving a single won in basic relocation loans," adding, "Even original residents with one home are suffering from a shortage of relocation funds as the LTV was reduced to 40%. Seoul residents who are eagerly awaiting the swift promotion of reconstruction and redevelopment have, in effect, been hit by a bolt from the blue."
He continued, "Even though the situation is this serious, the candidate answered that there is 'some exaggeration' about the relocation loan issue and reacted as if it were no big deal," criticizing, "Does the candidate not know the heartbreaking stories of ordinary people who are at their wits' end because they cannot secure relocation funds, or is the candidate deliberately turning away?"
Spokesperson Kim Byung-min of the Oh Se-hoon campaign also criticized in a commentary that day the candidate's visit a day earlier to Jangwi District 14 to release real estate pledges, calling it "mockery of Jangwi District 14 residents."
Spokesperson Kim said, "Jangwi New Town is the site of tragedy where a past mayor, Park Won-soon, and the local government, under the banner of a 'New Town exit strategy,' shattered an opportunity for integrated improvement of the residential environment," adding, "Shouting only the word development again without profound reflection on the policy failure that caused residents' suffering is a deceptive move."
He went on, "Jangwi District 14 was hit squarely by the Oct. 15 measures," adding, "Who pushed association members to the brink of cash liquidation by moving up the starting point for restricting the transfer of association membership, and made it difficult, due to loan regulations, to even prepare relocation funds to return deposits to existing tenants? It is President Lee Jae-myung, who effectively made the candidate the Seoul mayoral nominee."