Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon criticized the government's plan to supply some rental dwellings in Yongsan Park, saying, "We must not use the desperation of young people as a shield for failures in housing policy." He argued that, rather than supplying dwellings in Yongsan Park, the priority should be to restore "housing ladders" that can be used immediately, such as making lending rules realistic and expanding the supply of homes for young people and newlyweds.
On the 21st, the mayor said on Facebook, "The government says it should build rental dwellings for young people on part of Yongsan Park and claims it can use already damaged land, but that place is not 'damaged land' but a 'planned park site.'"
He added, "Promising to develop the entire area into a large green park after the return of the U.S. military base is a pledge to the public made through the special act on creating Yongsan Park," and said, "We must not mislead people as if the future of young people hinges on Yongsan Park, where even the groundbreaking date and the number of households to be supplied have not been decided."
The mayor said that in a meeting the previous day with the Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, he stressed, "What is urgent for young people is not an opaque plan that may never be realized, but a housing ladder they can use right now."
Specifically, he proposed raising the home price cap for the Didimdol loan from the current 600 million won to 900 million won and increasing the loan limit from 400 million won to 600 million won. He also argued that the Youth Future Bogeumjari Loan should expand eligibility to include apartments and raise the loan limit to around 600 million won.
He also called for easing regulations to expand the supply of the long-term jeonse dwellings II "Mirinae Home" for newlyweds. The mayor said, "Under current rules, we can supply only within 50% of the existing long-term jeonse dwellings volume," and said relevant laws should be revised so the Seoul city government can autonomously increase supply.
He also urged swift processing of the Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG)'s guarantee screening and approval for REIT establishment so that there will be no Youth Safety Dwellings that cannot be occupied even after completion due to guarantee insurance issues.
The mayor said, "There is no 'silver bullet' for solving young people's housing problems. Only steady and continuous supply is the answer," and added, "Instead of ramming through fanciful plans, we should make unreasonable lending regulations realistic and normalize the jeonse and monthly rent market."