Opposition calls for transferring redevelopment approval powers to district mayors, blames Oh for housing supply cliff

The Democratic Party of Korea said Monday that transferring some permitting and approval powers to autonomous district governments should be considered to ease bottlenecks in Seoul's urban renewal projects. The party also said housing supply has been delayed under Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon.

The party and the government announced last month through a senior party-government consultative meeting that they would push legislation in the National Assembly to transfer permitting authority for redevelopment and reconstruction projects of 500 units or fewer to heads of basic local governments. The Seoul Metropolitan Government pushed back sharply, calling the proposal "nothing more than a slogan from people who do not understand the reality on the ground."

Kim Young-bae, chairman of the Democratic Party's Seoul chapter, said at a forum hosted by the chapter's special housing supply policy committee at the National Assembly on Monday that "Seoul's housing supply has been in a cliff situation for the past five years." He said that while Mayor Oh has pledged to accelerate the designation of redevelopment zones through his "Sintong Planning" fast-track initiative, "it is questionable whether things are actually moving faster."

Kim then said "a rational division of roles between the mayor and district mayors is needed to speed up Seoul's urban renewal projects," urging the city to "work together with the Seoul chapter in a spirit of broader cooperation."

Lee Seung-ro, Seongbuk-gu District Mayor and chairman of the Seoul District Mayors' Council, said the transfer of authority "is a matter that 24 of Seoul's 25 autonomous districts have agreed to," adding that the intent is not to divide up power but to "think about ways to simplify procedures and gain speed."

Jo Min-woo, director of the housing renewal policy division at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said the ministry is "in close consultation with the National Assembly regarding the legislative amendment," adding that it is "currently the top priority under review and it does not appear that it will take long" to introduce the bill.

Experts attending the forum also said transferring authority to autonomous districts would help accelerate urban renewal projects.

Attorney Kwon Jeong-sun, who presented at the forum, said that "in many zones, project implementation plans are revised two or three or more times, and having to go through Seoul's integrated review process each time is the main cause of project delays." She added that "not only the review period itself, but also coordination with relevant departments before a case is even put on the review agenda adds several additional months."

Lee Jong-seon, former vice president of Gyeonggi Housing and Urban Corporation, pushed back against the argument that transferring permitting authority would not have a decisive impact on revitalizing urban renewal and expanding housing supply. He said such a view "underestimates the fact that simplification of procedures and the location of decision-making authority are also important variables in revitalizing urban renewal," and advised that "basic local governments can in fact prevent disputes through direct communication with reconstruction associations."