Park Seung-jin, chair of Seoul Metropolitan Council's housing committee

Housing is built in numbers, but it is people who live inside. That is the starting point for Park Seung-jin, chair of the Seoul Metropolitan Council's Housing and Space Committee, as he approaches the city's housing policy.

Rather than counting how many units have been supplied or how many redevelopment zones have been designated, Park said the more pressing questions are where residents must move when they are displaced, whether they can afford jeonse and monthly rent while redevelopment runs its course, and whether young people can remain in Seoul even after marriage and having children.

Speaking as the second guest of the "Praise Over Politics" series, Park returned to the word "people" throughout the conversation on housing policy. Even on housing — one of the sharpest fault lines between the ruling and opposition parties — the underlying goal of stabilizing residents' lives is ultimately the same, he said.

"Housing is the most fundamental foundation supporting residents' lives," Park said. "The role of the council is not to stop at how much supply has been delivered, but to keep watching until residents actually feel stability in their daily lives."

That perspective shapes how Park views the Seoul Metropolitan Government's plan to break ground on 310,000 units by 2031. He supports the push to expand supply, but said the true picture only emerges when the homes being demolished — and the residents who must leave — are counted alongside the new apartments going up.

An analysis by the Housing and Space Committee of 72 redevelopment and reconstruction sites that have entered the relocation phase found a net housing increase rate of just 19.3 percent. Park said a supply-and-demand management system is needed that tracks not only units under construction but also demolitions, relocations and jeonse and monthly rent demand by district.

The same "people first" standard applies to how Park views redevelopment and reconstruction. Projects need to move quickly, he said, but if the push for speed divides residents, it can end up costing far more time in the long run.

That is why Park places such emphasis on managing conflict before it erupts. Rather than stepping in to mediate after residents for and against a project have already clashed, he wants the Seoul Metropolitan Government and district offices to provide residents with sufficient information and hear their views before a project even begins. For areas where conflict is a serious concern, he has proposed deploying professional coordinators early to serve as a bridge between residents and government agencies.

"Speed and procedural legitimacy are not opposing concepts," Park said. "Listening carefully to residents and resolving conflict at an early stage is actually the path to shortening the project timeline."

Park's attention does not stop at building homes. Another of his goals is to create a "residential welfare ladder" — a continuous chain of housing support that follows residents through every stage of life, from young adults and newlyweds to middle-aged families raising children and the elderly.

What matters to residents, he said, is not how many support programs exist but what help is available at the moment they need a home. Park said youth housing, newlywed support, housing assistance for families with children and housing tailored to older residents all need to be connected within a single life-cycle framework.

In his home district of Jungnang-gu, Park has been closely tracking the planned relocation of Seoul Housing & Communities Corp. to the Sinnaedong area. The roughly 515 billion won ($385 million) mixed-use development is set to include a new SH headquarters, a 600-seat multipurpose cultural performance venue, 388 units of residential housing and lifestyle facilities.

What Park envisions is not simply one new office building. He wants SH's core divisions and functions to move together, with cultural, residential and commercial uses blending to create a new everyday hub for the northeastern part of the city that residents can genuinely feel.

"The relocation of SH is not simply a matter of changing a public institution's address," Park said. "It needs to become a space where people gather, the local economy comes alive, and real change is driven for Jungnang-gu and the northeastern districts."

True to the spirit of "Praise Over Politics," the conversation ended not with talk of outmaneuvering rivals but with housing and the lives of residents — the themes Park kept returning to throughout.

The ruling and opposition parties may differ on solutions involving supply, regulation, development and preservation. But the goal of easing housing worries and building a better Seoul need not be one of those differences, Park said.

"In the council, we can think differently and there are times when we must debate fiercely, but when a policy genuinely helps residents, we should be able to recognize that and work together," he said. "I will keep pursuing legislative work that puts policy before political battles and residents' lives before competition."

As the second participant in the "Praise Over Politics" series, Park named People Power Party lawmaker Ko Gwang-min as the next subject. He said he holds Ko in high regard for consistently showing respect and consideration toward fellow lawmakers regardless of party lines, and for approaching his legislative work with humility.