Yeongdeungpo-gu district mayor pushes 'constitutional housing' project

The efforts of Yeongdeungpo-gu District Mayor Jo Yu-jin to bring constitutional values into local governance are drawing attention.

A graduate of Seoul National University's College of Law, Jo served as a Democratic Party of Korea official before working as an administrative officer at Cheong Wa Dae under the Roh Moo-hyun administration and as a policy research official at the National Assembly.

During her time at Cheong Wa Dae, President Roh reportedly told her that, having graduated from Seoul National University's law school, she ought to study the Constitution — a remark that set her on a path of dedicated constitutional research.

She has since led a constitutional research institute and authored more than five books on the subject, earning a reputation in political circles as a leading constitutional expert.

Jo holds the conviction that the Constitution — which enshrines the principle of popular sovereignty, human dignity, freedom and equality — should serve as the starting point for all public administration.

That philosophy is seen as the driving force behind her campaign pledge, made ahead of the ninth round of local elections, to build Yeongdeungpo-gu into a "constitutional city."

Against that backdrop, Jo drew fresh attention after outlining her "constitutional housing" initiative in a recent Yonhap interview.

Article 35, Paragraph 3 of the Constitution states that the state shall endeavor, through housing development policies and other means, to ensure that all citizens enjoy a pleasant residential life. Drawing on that constitutional spirit, Jo plans to supply high-quality public housing in Yeongdeungpo-gu.

"We will use publicly built or acquired quality housing as a foundation, giving residents the option not only to rent but also to invest or own," Jo said. "We are also considering giving move-in priority to newlyweds and families with school-age children."

She added that housing costs would be set at nearly half the rate of market-rate rental housing, and signaled her intent to show that an autonomous district can deliver effective housing policy by working with the Korea Land and Housing Corporation and the Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation.

Realizing "constitutional housing," however, will require concrete planning — securing sites, arranging financing and designing investment and ownership structures for residents. Cooperation with the two corporations and the Seoul Metropolitan Government will also be essential.

Since taking office, Jo has also announced plans to hold a "residents' assembly" — modeled on the ancient Greek ekklesia — to incorporate residents' views into major policy decisions.

Participatory governance in which residents discuss and decide on local issues is already practiced in several autonomous districts. During the tenure of Kim Young-bae as Seongbuk-gu district mayor in the fifth round of local elections — now a National Assembly member — residents directly deliberated on and decided local matters such as the designation of no-smoking zones.

Jo's choice to call the forum a "residents' assembly," however, signals more than routine public consultation — it reflects a determination to root the constitutional values of popular sovereignty and resident self-governance in the district's administration.

Jo chose a "constitutional city declaration" as the first official act of her term. She has consistently stressed that "the constitutional values of human dignity, freedom and equality, democracy and the rule of law, and human rights and decentralization must serve as the standard for all of Yeongdeungpo-gu's policies and administration."

Leading Yeongdeungpo-gu in the ninth round of local elections under the slogan "Yeongdeungpo, the Best Under Heaven," Jo now faces the question of whether "constitutional housing" can move beyond a declaratory slogan to become a policy that genuinely changes residents' lives. Her next constitutional steps are being closely watched.