Oh Se-hoon visits alley commerce district in first grassroots outing of new term

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited a local alley commerce district as his first grassroots outing of his third term, meeting with merchants and signaling the start of his push to make Seoul a city of higher quality of life. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it plans to incorporate on-the-ground feedback into policy and nurture locally distinctive brand districts to inject new energy into the city's alley commercial areas.

Oh visited Magok Art Street in Gangseo-gu at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, holding a roundtable with merchants and listening to their concerns. He then toured the district to review progress on a local brand development project linking culture and the arts with commerce.

According to the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation's "June 2026 Alley Economy Trends" report, the alley economy sentiment index stood at 92.8 points in May, down 3.7 points from the previous month. The visit was arranged to directly assess the difficulties facing alley commerce districts and quickly reflect merchants' concerns in city administration.

Magok Art Street is a commercial district spanning about 90,000 square meters between Magok Station and Balsan Station, with 579 shops. It is home to rich cultural assets including LG Arts Center Seoul, Space K art museum and Seoul Botanic Park. The district was selected in January as a target site for the city's local brand commercial district development project, which will provide intensive support over two years.

Through its local brand commercial district development project — which aims to grow promising alley districts into landmark destinations — the Seoul Metropolitan Government supports brand development that draws on each district's unique character, content creation and joint promotional activities.

To help small business owners trade and grow with stability during the third term, the city will strengthen the foundations for growth through 3 trillion won ($1.93 billion) in annual long-term, low-interest policy financing, life-cycle tailored support covering everything from startup through growth, crisis and closure, and an expansion of Seoul Love Gift Card issuance.

The city will also push ahead with a nighttime economy revitalization drive. It plans to identify distinctive outdoor dining and entertainment venues in each of the 25 autonomous districts, link them with local cultural and tourism assets, and extend visitor dwell time to bring fresh vitality to alley commerce areas.

Through local brand district development, nighttime economy activation and related measures, the city said it will expand policies to boost alley commerce and create an environment where small business owners can sustain their livelihoods — advancing its vision of Seoul as a city of higher quality of life.

"Revitalizing small business owners and alley commerce districts struggling under high prices and sluggish domestic demand is the starting point for restoring the everyday economy," Oh said. "We will nurture local brand districts that draw on the area's rich green spaces, cultural assets and other distinctive features, turning them into attractive destinations that residents and tourists will want to return to."

He added that the city would expand the number of alley-type commercial districts from the current 22 to 38 during his term, establish nighttime economy hubs in each autonomous district, and create more spaces where residents can enjoy themselves and spend — injecting vitality into alley commerce and the local economy.