Oh Se-hoon warns devolving redevelopment authority to district offices would slow projects, fuel haphazard development

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said Thursday that transferring authority over redevelopment and reconstruction projects involving fewer than 500 units to district offices would slow procedures and lead to haphazard development. Oh again made clear the Seoul Metropolitan Government's opposition to such a transfer, noting that the city handles only zone designation and association formation in the process.

Speaking at a national audit by the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee at Seoul City Hall on Thursday, Oh was asked by People Power Party lawmaker Kang Myung-gu whether devolving authority over residential improvement projects of 500 units or fewer to district offices would actually slow things down. "That's right — supply would slow further," Oh said. He added that the city is involved only in zone designation and association formation, while all approval matters rest with district offices, and that the city had already cut a process that used to take years to under four months through its "Sintong Planning" initiative.

"If authority over projects of 500 units or fewer is transferred to district offices, procedures will drag on even longer, it will turn into haphazard development, and people will ultimately regret it," Oh said.

Kang then said that urban planning requires drawing a big picture, and that giving district offices the authority would lead each to apply its own standards — potentially turning areas into what he called "studio-apartment villages."

"That's right," Oh said. "The function of coordinating residential improvement projects would be weakened."