Seoul blames former mayor for housing shortfall

The Seoul city government on Friday blamed policies pursued under late former Mayor Park Won-soon for weakening the foundation for long-term housing supply in the capital.

The municipality made the assessment in a report analyzing the city's housing policies over the past 20 years, as recent shortages in the capital have contributed to sharply rising home prices.

The report said that between 2012 and 2020, while the late Park served as mayor, 389 of the 683 areas designated for city improvement projects were canceled, eliminating the opportunity to supply roughly 430,000 homes.

Park, who was a member of the now ruling Democratic Party (DP), prioritized "urban regeneration" projects that focused on preservation over large-scale redevelopment or reconstruction.

The report comes as current Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party has faced criticism from DP lawmakers over his private-led housing supply policy.

The city government under Oh plans to break ground on about 310,000 housing units by 2031 through redevelopment and reconstruction projects to respond to the housing shortage.

Yonhap