Oh Se-hoon wins fifth term as Seoul mayor, vowing to accelerate private-led housing supply

Oh Se-hoon of the People Power Party has secured a fifth term as Seoul mayor, raising expectations that privately led urban renewal projects will gain fresh momentum. His victory in a closely contested race is widely seen as a signal that public sentiment on housing supply — particularly apartment construction — translated into votes. Oh has pledged to overhaul his signature "Rapid Integrated Planning" initiative into a 2.0 version designed to accelerate ground-breaking timelines and strengthen project viability.

Among his campaign pledges for the June 3 local elections, Oh committed to breaking ground on 310,000 housing units by 2031 and fast-tracking ground-breaking on 85,000 units in core strategic renewal zones within three years of taking office. With the election win securing political momentum for the initiative, high-density and high-rise redevelopment sites are expected to benefit. The Han River corridor is seen as a primary beneficiary: according to a Seoul Metropolitan Government announcement in February, roughly 40 of the 85 sites eligible for early ground-breaking — accounting for about 40,000 units — are concentrated in the three Gangnam districts and key Han River belt areas.

The districts that delivered the strongest support for Oh were the three Gangnam districts — Gangnam, Seocho and Songpa — along with the 10 Han River belt districts of Yongsan, Dongjak, Gwangjin, Yeongdeungpo and Gangdong, among others.

Seoul's real estate policy is also expected to focus on deregulation aimed at improving project viability. Oh has consistently maintained the philosophy that apartments should be supplied where residents want them.

Under that approach, a "fast-track integration" pathway that allows projects to skip the preparatory committee stage and move directly to association formation is set to be introduced, and fiscal support through the city's housing promotion fund and other local government funds is expected to expand. To handle the large-scale relocation demand that an uptick in urban renewal activity would generate, the city plans to secure 100,000 dedicated housing units through a real estate investment trust structure.

For the Gangbuk area, where project viability has been a persistent challenge, Oh plans to activate six incentives: zoning upgrades in growth-potential zones, expansion of the pre-negotiation system, expansion of Gangbuk-style transit-oriented development projects, special provisions for urban mixed-use development (conditional floor-area ratio of up to 1,300 percent), introduction of a project viability correction coefficient, and removal of height restrictions in altitude-designated districts — all aimed at drawing in private-sector participation.

On the residential welfare side, the city plans to supply 123,000 public rental units, 106,000 long-term jeonse units, and 74,000 units under the "The Dream Home" program for young adults and newlywed couples. An additional 8,000 units over four years will be offered through the "Baro Naejip" scheme, which channels development profits into below-market public pre-sale prices via a tentatively named Youth Asset-Building Fund.

Industry observers welcomed Oh's re-election as a sign that Seoul's redevelopment and reconstruction policies will maintain consistency. "The continuation of Seoul's push to revitalize urban renewal projects can help stabilize the market," said Yoon Ji-hae, head of the research lab at Real Estate 114, "because if supply policy changes direction midway, it creates confusion and side effects that actually slow things down."

Park Hap-su, an adjunct professor at Konkuk University's Graduate School of Real Estate, said the city would likely focus on areas where expanded supply would have the greatest impact — including Mokdong, where reconstruction is expected to produce a net increase of 20,000 households. "Given Seoul's severe shortage of housing supply, the city will also try to broaden the supply base by pushing ahead with transit-oriented development projects in parallel," he said.

However, how Oh navigates issues requiring cooperation from the National Assembly and the central government remains an open question. The Democratic Party of Korea swept a large number of metropolitan and basic local government seats, reshaping the political landscape into one where the ruling party dominates at the local level. Institutional obstacles Seoul cannot resolve on its own — including loan regulations on relocation costs that some project sites have flagged, difficulties in transferring association member status, and calls to abolish the reconstruction excess profit recapture regime — will require legislative and policy action beyond the city's authority.

"Matters tied to laws and financial regulations — such as amendments to the Urban and Residential Environment Improvement Act or lending rules — are heavily influenced by the government, the National Assembly and the ruling party," said Ham Young-jin, head of the real estate research lab at Woori Bank. "Many project sites have already reached the association establishment approval stage, and once they enter the relocation phase, these issues become extremely sensitive — so active efforts to secure funding and solutions will be essential."

Kwon Dae-joong, a chair professor in the Department of Economics and Real Estate at Hansung University's graduate school, said the government's housing supply plans are concentrated in third-generation new towns and land development zones outside Seoul, making it difficult to direct benefits specifically to the city. "Oh will need to show proactive movement in drawing alternatives out of the central government," he said.

Tensions over key project sites could resurface, much as they did after the September 2025 supply measures announcement, when Seoul and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport diverged over the Yongsan International Business District.

On that project, Seoul has outlined plans to create a business hub dense with supertall office towers, while the ministry has pushed back with a proposal to build 10,000 apartments there to stabilize housing supply. Oh had already opposed a plan to place 8,000 households in Yongsan announced by the Moon Jae-in administration in 2021, saying "cramming that many homes in there is excessive," and he continued to oppose the 10,000-unit supply plan while serving as mayor before the election.

Industry insiders believe Oh's re-election — seen as a public mandate — has made it harder for the ministry to push through the 10,000-unit plan.

"If the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport starts reaching into local government licensing and permitting authority over the Yongsan International Business District development, the backlash will be severe," said Ko Jun-seok, a professor at Yonsei University's Sangnam School of Management. "It looks increasingly likely that things will go the way Seoul intends."

A separate dispute over supertall development plans around the Sewoon Sangga complex is also expected to flare up again. Earlier, after Seoul lifted height restrictions to allow buildings of up to approximately 142 meters in Sewoon Zone 4, the Cultural Heritage Administration and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport objected, arguing that high-rise construction near Jongmyo Shrine — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — would damage the surrounding landscape.

When the ministry subsequently unveiled the "Jan. 29 supply measures," which included a plan to build 6,800 housing units at Taereung Country Club, Seoul pushed back, noting that about 13 percent of the Taereung CC site overlaps with the protected zone of Joseon royal tombs. The city argued that the Cultural Heritage Administration and the ministry's position was contradictory — having blocked Sewoon Sangga development in the name of preserving Jongmyo while raising no objection to Taereung CC.

Oh was pointed in his criticism at the time. "The Cultural Heritage Administration opposes development of the Sewoon district, which is far removed from the historic preservation zone, yet raises no objection to Taereung CC, which clearly falls within the sphere of influence of a World Heritage Site," he said. "The behavior of the president and the government is nothing short of contradictory and a double standard."

By Kim Hee-ryang, Yoon Sung-hyun and Hong Seung-hee