Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
Seoul mayor vows to make Seoul globally competitive
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon takes an oath during his virtual inaugural ceremony at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap
By Bahk Eun-ji
By Bahk Eun-ji
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon vowed, Thursday, to turn Seoul into a top-tier, globally-competitive city during his term in office.
Oh, who won in the April 7 by-elections, was inaugurated during a ceremony at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) that was broadcast online.
“I did a lot of work over the last 10 years before coming to office again. I think it was a process of preparing and training for the Seoul Metropolitan Government again today,” Oh said in his inauguration speech.
In 2006, when Oh's first inauguration ceremony took place at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, a grand ceremony was held with a large number of dignitaries and guests from all walks of life.
About 15 years later, Oh's inauguration ceremony took place at the DDP, built in 2008 during his first term as one of the centerpieces of the “Design Seoul” project to beautify the capital. Only Kim In-ho, chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, Cho Hee-yeon, superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and Lee Dong-jin, head of the autonomous district council, attended the ceremony this time due to social distancing measures.
“Many people are joining us through live streaming on YouTube. In particular, I am very pleased to meet all of you in this place that I worked really hard to establish while facing a lot of difficulties,” he said.
Oh also presented five policy tasks ― an immediate recovery from COVID-19 damage, policies for young citizens, stabilizing the housing supply and real estate prices, support for one-person households and strengthening the competitiveness of the capital.
The mayor also decided to increase emergency loans and support for small business owners. The plan is to find active and practical support measures for traditional markets, local commercial districts, tourism and cultural industries.
He also announced plans to actively develop policies for young people.
“We will take the lead in preparing policies for people in their 20s and 30s. We will ensure that young people can get jobs and enjoy stable lives through fair opportunities.”
Oh also pledged to come up with a new housing policy.
The new mayor noted that a sufficient housing supply has not been provided over the past decade due to local government policies that were heavily focused on reconstruction and redevelopment projects.
“Housing prices in Seoul continue to rise due to discrepancies in supply and demand. Last month, the prices of apartments in Seoul rose by 45 percent from four years ago,” he said.
“We need special measures. The city government will set up a sinle strategy to catch two rabbits: housing supply and real estate price stabilization.”
Oh also said, “We will review regulations concerning city planning from scratch.”
One of the key tasks is to come up with comprehensive measures for one-person households, he said.
The city government recently launched a task force to pursue special measures for one-person households.
“We will come up with policies to address the five major representative anxieties of one-person households, including safety, disease, poverty, loneliness and housing problems.”
Oh also said he plans to form and operate the “Seoul Vision 2030 Committee” from early next month to develop strategies to enhance urban competitiveness.
“The economic growth rate in Seoul last year was minus 1.3 percent and the employment rate was 59.3 percent, the lowest in five years.”
Oh mentioned a global survey released by the U.S. consulting firm A.T. Kearney.
“Seoul fell to 42nd place last year from 10th place in 2010 in the ranking of the Global Urban Outlook, which assesses a city's growth potential with investment,” he said.
“We will come up with a clear vision to enhance the quality of life and urban competitiveness.”