Oh Se-hoon launches G3 planning committee to chart Seoul's — and Korea's — future

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon held the inaugural ceremony of the G3 Seoul Planning Committee on Monday morning at the multipurpose hall of Seoul City Hall.

The G3 Seoul Planning Committee is a public-private policy platform and blueprint-drafting body for the elected 9th-term city administration, bringing together roughly 100 private-sector members — including specialists in residential affairs, transportation, the economy, youth issues and balanced regional development, as well as representatives of the younger generation. The committee operates through 10 subcommittees in total: seven covering areas closely tied to residents' daily lives and three special subcommittees addressing the city government's core agenda items.

At the ceremony, Oh watched a video presenting visions and expectations for Seoul's future before presenting appointment certificates to the participating committee members. The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to release the "G3 Seoul Plan" in September, laying out the 9th-term administration's governing vision and key policy priorities following deliberations by the committee.

"What Seoul residents want are not grand things — a home to live in, a comfortable commute, and opportunities for young people to plan their futures," Oh said. "The role of the G3 Seoul Planning Committee is to propel Seoul into the global top three cities and translate citizens' aspirations into actionable policies." He added that he hoped the committee would design the "G3 Seoul Plan" from the perspective of ordinary residents. The plan will set the direction for the 9th-term city administration and serve as an implementation road map to transform citizens' lives over the next four years.

After the ceremony, Oh posted on social media that "semiconductor investment is being swayed by political calculations, and central politics is draining the nation's energy in factional conflicts and fixation on the past." He said, "When the politics that should be designing the future loses its way and misjudges, Seoul — the growth engine of the Republic of Korea — must offer new coordinates of hope. The planning committee launched Monday is exactly that milestone."

He recalled wearing a T-shirt printed with the words "Global Top 3" while meeting citizens during the local elections campaign. "The promise to stand shoulder to shoulder with London, New York and Tokyo was made because the world's highest urban competitiveness index translates directly into the happiness and high-quality daily lives of each and every citizen," he added. "Ultimately, 'Global Top 3' is not a competition for outward rankings — it is a competition for the world's highest quality of life."

Oh said Seoul would upgrade from its established identity as a "city of companionship and charm" to a "special city of world-class quality of life." "I will build a Seoul where housing worries ease and commutes become comfortable — a city where broader opportunities open up for young people and where the vulnerable are warmly supported and kept safe," he wrote. He also pledged to boost urban competitiveness through systematic indicator management and return the fruits of that effort to citizens in the form of welfare and jobs.

"'G3 Seoul' goes beyond making Seoul prosper alone — it is a project that charts the next coordinates for all of Korea," Oh said. "I will prove it through overwhelming action that pools the collective wisdom of the committee to change daily life in Seoul and awaken Korea's future. When Seoul changes, Korea changes."