Oh Se-hoon denied floor at Cabinet meeting; president orders report on Seoul housing supply

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon was denied the floor at a Cabinet meeting chaired by President Lee Jae Myung — his first such meeting since winning a fifth term — as the president ordered a written report on what he called a severe housing supply shortage in the capital.

Oh attended the 30th Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday morning as an observer. Under Cabinet regulations, the Seoul mayor is not a full Cabinet member but may sit in when necessary, alongside other local government heads and senior civil servants. It was Oh's first Cabinet meeting since his fifth-term election victory, and his first in about a year.

During his election campaign, Oh had pledged that if elected he would attend Cabinet meetings to convey public sentiment on real estate to President Lee and offer policy recommendations.

When an agenda item on a national public forum on real estate policy came up, Oh asked, "May the Seoul mayor say something?" As an observer, he needed the chair's permission to speak.

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook, who presided over the meeting, declined. "There is a national public forum for that, so I would prefer we leave it to that process," she said, noting that supply-related forums were scheduled — with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Tuesday, the Financial Services Commission on Wednesday and the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Thursday. "We will receive the mayor's views in writing," she added.

Oh said Seoul had already submitted its report to the policy chief, the deputy prime minister and the land minister. "It seems I won't be given the chance to speak, so I will let the report stand in my place," he said.

President Lee then asked Oh to include additional details in the written report. "When you submit the report, please also include how reconstruction and redevelopment in Seoul are currently progressing, and why supply in Seoul is generally said to be so short — include those current issues as well," Lee said.

Oh said he would.