Exclusive: Before Hong-Oh summit, vice minister and deputy mayor to meet first on housing supply

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Seoul Metropolitan Government have reactivated a director-general-level working channel that had been suspended following a change in land ministers, resuming consultations on housing supply. Ahead of a planned meeting between Land Minister Hong Ji-seon and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, the two sides are expected to hold a vice minister-deputy mayor level meeting to fine-tune the agenda — including deregulation of redevelopment projects and housing supply measures. However, the two sides remain far apart on issues such as housing development at Yongsan Park, leaving the prospect of a substantive agreement uncertain.

According to government sources Friday, the ministry and the city plan to arrange a meeting between Vice Minister of Land Kim I-tak and Seoul Deputy Mayor for Administration Kim Seong-bo as soon as the ongoing national audit wraps up. Working-level officials in charge of housing supply met for the first time since Minister Hong took office. The two agencies had been discussing measures to expand housing supply and reviewing housing market conditions under former Minister Kim Yun-deok, but those talks were put on hold when the minister changed.

Seoul plans to ask Minister Hong to ease restrictions on redevelopment projects, specifically requesting higher floor-area ratios for private redevelopment, relaxed limits on the transfer of union member status, and a lower mandatory ratio of rental housing. The city's aim is to improve the financial viability of redevelopment projects, reduce regulatory hurdles in permitting and project execution, and accelerate housing supply in central Seoul.

The ministry has also indicated it will review Seoul's requests favorably. Before leaving office, former Minister Kim said the two sides had agreed to regularize director-general-level working meetings, and that the ministry would give a clear answer after taking a forward-looking approach to the issues Seoul had raised.

The two sides remain sharply divided, however, over a proposal to use part of Yongsan Park for housing. The ministry is reviewing a plan to build housing on sites returned by the US military — including officer quarters Complex 5, Camp Coiner, military apartment buildings and non-commissioned officer quarters — while excluding the main Yongsan Park site. Seoul, for its part, continues to oppose the plan.

Mayor Oh reiterated his opposition Thursday at a National Assembly audit of the Seoul Metropolitan Government held by the Public Administration and Security Committee. "The government's plan to develop the Yongsan Park site — particularly the officer quarters and military apartment sites — into apartment complexes directly contravenes the Special Act on Yongsan Park," he said. "According to polling the city conducted among Seoul residents, nearly half oppose development of Yongsan Park."

Oh also cited environmental concerns. "Even if Yongsan Park were to be used, there are multiple obstacles that would make it impossible to even break ground within this administration's term," he said. "The soil is contaminated, and decontamination would take at minimum three to four years, possibly six to seven." He added that he planned to make the same points clearly to the new land minister in the near future.

The ministry, meanwhile, said it would keep the possibility of using Yongsan Park on the table and continue discussions with Seoul. At a National Assembly audit of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee on Wednesday, Minister Hong said the ministry and Seoul were "not fundamentally different in their policy direction on housing supply," and pledged to continue consultations with the city and to discuss plans for using part of the Yongsan Park site for housing.

The ministry is also pressing Seoul on other fronts — including breaking ground on 10,000 housing units within the Yongsan International Business District and transferring redevelopment permitting authority to district mayors. Even with the working-level channel restored, analysts say the two sides will find it difficult to bridge their differences on key issues such as redevelopment deregulation and Yongsan housing supply.

"The government's position is to move quickly on issues where coordination with Seoul is possible," a government official said.