Seoul to restructure city government under Oh Se-hoon's ninth term

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to create a Youth Housing Division to strengthen housing support for young residents, establish a new Urban Competitiveness Office to pursue its goal of becoming a top-three global city, and set up a Middle-Aged Support Division to provide lifelong education for residents in their 40s and 50s.

The city announced the reorganization ahead of the launch of the ninth elected-term administration. It will put the revised administrative rules out for public comment from Thursday through Monday, with the restructuring set to take effect July 20.

The overhaul focuses on reinforcing the organizations and personnel responsible for boosting urban competitiveness, expanding housing supply, stabilizing the residential market, and advancing key projects in industry and culture.

A new Urban Competitiveness Office will be established under the Policy Planning Bureau's policy planning division to serve as a control tower for urban competitiveness efforts. The office will be dedicated to drawing up a master plan for Seoul's rise to "G3 city" status, managing the administration's core campaign pledges, tracking global urban competitiveness indexes, and identifying initiatives to improve residents' quality of life. Seoul currently ranks sixth in the Global Power City Index published last year by the Mori Memorial Foundation's Institute for Urban Strategies in Japan, trailing London, New York, Tokyo, Paris and Singapore. The gap with fifth-ranked Singapore narrowed from 98 points the previous year to just 5 points.

The housing bureau will also be reorganized. The Housing Policy Division will oversee public- and private-sector housing supply aimed at breaking ground on 310,000 units by 2031, while the Strategic Housing Supply Division will be renamed the Moa Housing Division to promote housing development in low-rise residential areas. Moa housing is Seoul's small-scale residential renewal model, in which neighboring property owners in aging low-rise areas pool their lots for joint block-level redevelopment that would be difficult to carry out through large-scale projects. The city will also create a new Residential Welfare Division dedicated to supporting housing-vulnerable residents.

A Youth Housing Division will be added to the housing bureau to help young people and newlyweds establish stable lives in the city. The division will provide a one-stop support system covering everything from the supply of generation-specific housing — such as "Ansim" safe-living units — to financial assistance for monthly rent and other housing costs.

The economics bureau will be strengthened to advance the city's "Seoul Tournomics" vision and boost the competitiveness of the K-culture industry. The Creative Industries Division will be rebranded as the K-Culture Strategy Division, expanding its existing film, media and performance projects to include new K-pop-based initiatives, operation of Seoul Arena, and the development of popular music support facilities. The Advanced Industries Division will be renamed the AI Strategic Industries Division to accelerate Seoul's push to become a "global AI innovation leader" by advancing the AI transformation ecosystem and developing an AI Tech City.

Within the welfare bureau, the Senior Welfare Division will be reorganized into an Aging Society Response Division, and the Care Welfare Division will become the Integrated Care Division. A new Senior Support Division will be created to focus exclusively on assisting vulnerable elderly residents. The Aging Society Response Division will oversee the planning and implementation of the "9988 Seoul Project," a policy initiative designed to reflect the diverse needs of the new generation of older adults. The Senior Support Division will run welfare programs covering the livelihood, care and protection of vulnerable seniors. A Middle-Aged Support Division will be added to the lifelong education bureau to build a support system for re-employment and social participation among residents in their 40s and 50s.

A Youth Growth Support Team (grades 4 and 5) will be established under the Future Youth Planning Office, shifting youth policy from a welfare-centered to a growth-centered approach. The city will upgrade flagship youth employment programs — including Seoul Young Careers and the Youth Employment Academy — and build a one-stop support system offering AI skills training and growth opportunities.

To ensure safety across all aspects of daily city life — from urban infrastructure to everyday traffic — the city will strengthen its dedicated safety management functions. The disaster and safety bureau's safety inspection function will be enhanced to establish a continuous, in-depth inspection system covering all urban infrastructure. Inspections will expand beyond construction sites to include aging infrastructure and high-occupancy facilities.

To prevent accidents and shoddy construction at worksites, the Urban Infrastructure Headquarters' Safety Management Division will be reorganized into a Safety and Quality Management Office reporting directly to the headquarters chief, with overall responsibility for facility safety and quality control.

A new Daily Traffic Safety Division will be created within the transportation bureau to integrate management of pedestrian and road traffic safety, with a dedicated focus on improving protection zones for vulnerable road users and addressing accident-prone locations.

"The ninth elected term is a period to carry the 'changes begun' in the previous term through to their 'overwhelming completion,' and we must ensure that the core projects promised to citizens bear fruit," Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said. "I will build an organization that provides solid support for the ninth-term administration — moving swiftly on key projects such as housing supply and youth growth support, while leaving no gaps on urgent issues such as urban infrastructure safety and integrated care."