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Inauguration Speech
Dear honorable citizens of Seoul,
I am Oh Se-hoon, the 39th Mayor of Seoul.
My landslide victory across all 426 administrative polling districts of the local elections on June 1st feels like an implicit order from the citizens to fulfill all the pledges that I promised.
This, I believe, encompasses the citizens’ desire for a socially diverse and inclusive Seoul that leads as a global leader that leaves no one behind.
The future of Seoul that we dream together is clear—a city without poverty inheritance, a city with social mobility depending on effort, a city where everyone can hone their talent while raising children in a stable residential environment, a city where the youth can be self-dependent by finding sustainable quality jobs, and a city where small business owners can maintain a stable livelihood.
I will hold dear to my heart and remember the wishes and order of the citizens contained in every vote, and achieve Seoul’s administrative vision of the future for the livelihood of the citizens during my four years in office alongside the Seoul Metropolitan Council.
First, I will prioritize transforming Seoul into a socially inclusive city.
My pledge of social inclusion has long remained at the forefront of my mayoral campaign not only as a political slogan, but also as the reason why I sought to run for reelection. In short, it is my lifetime goal.Although Korea joined the global ranks as one of the top 10 economic powerhouses, its rapid development has resulted in revealing the dark side of a widening wealth inequality and social exclusion.
Now, we must aim for maturity rather than growth, value instead of ranks or statistics. In this regard, becoming a socially inclusive city is an important task to relieve social polarization and increase Seoul’s urban competitiveness.
From now on, I will prioritize making Seoul a socially inclusive city for municipal policies across the board, and allow more benefits to trickle down to the socially excluded and those facing hardships.
Seoul established a framework for its 4 major policies to solve urgent social issues, such as livelihood, education, housing, and healthcare, in the past year.
Seoul will actively carry out policies tailored to socially vulnerable groups, such as the Safety Income pilot program as part of future-oriented welfare, Seoul Learn to relieve the education gap, high-quality public rental housing which will change the paradigm of rental housing, and public healthcare service that can provide healthcare services of middle-class level or higher to socially vulnerable groups.
Seoul will develop a social inclusion index to benchmark how much the city’s efforts helped the vulnerable for reflection in municipal policy-making and budget execution processes, effectively affecting all of the socially vulnerable, such as young and senior citizens as well as single-person households.
Furthermore, Seoul will focus on creating a parent-friendly Seoul under the principle of “A happy mother makes the family and child happy,” assuring that the city will assist in child-rearing and provide a tailored childcare policy roadmap as fast as possible.
Second, I will stabilize the housing market by normalizing redevelopment and reconstruction.
Stabilizing the housing market is the most urgent challenge Seoul is experiencing as a megacity of 10 million in population. New housing will be supplied as much as possible by using all possible policy methods as housing prices are showing a trend of downwards stabilization.
Above all, Seoul will create an institutional foundation to normalize the city’s housing supply and carry out redevelopment and reconstruction projects applying quick integrated plans while further promoting Moa Houses and Moa Towns which are small-scale housing maintenance projects that combine old low-rise housing areas.
Seoul will expand the supply of high-quality public rental housing for low-income vulnerable groups, newlywed couples, and even single-person households. For this, the city will take the lead in closing the housing gap and eliminating discrimination and exclusion from the city’s rental housing scheme.
Furthermore, Seoul will create a positive feedback loop where people move in to rental homes as their first home to later upgrade to presale homes. The city will implement policies, such as installment presale homes and land rental homes, to allow the creation of additional assets while living stably for those who face difficulties in receiving presale homes,.
Third, I will enhance Seoul’s appeal as a socially diverse global city that stands alongside international cities like New York and London.
The key point of making Seoul into a globally leading city is making Seoul an attractive city where people all over the world want to come to, live in, work in, and invest in.
The first task is increasing economic vitality by nurturing future businesses.
The old downtown area along Eulji-ro, Jong-ro and Toegye-ro will be transformed into a high-density comprehensive business town to strengthen its function as a city center, and create a global innovation core centered around the Hangang River by connecting with the functions of Yongsan’s international business and Yeouido’s global finance.
Following Yongsan’s new era with its new President’s Office, Yongsan’s international business district will be created as a smart city where science comes to live, becoming the front line for digital transformation to lead local economies and industries.
Alongside Yongsan, the city will strengthen the industrial competitiveness of each urban hub, such as Dongdaemun as the mecca for the beauty industry, Hongneung as the center for the bio and medical sectors, and Yangjae as the core engine for AI development.
Investment in future industries, such as AI, big data and cloud computing, will not be spared to nurture innovative digital talent demanded by industries.
The Seoul Software Academy (SeSAC) which nurtures technical workforce for Industry 4.0 will be expanded to all 25 districts so that young citizens can get quality job training wherever in Seoul.
I will implement Design Seoul 2.0 to make the city a reputable smart design city. Artistic design will be expanded from the public to private sector to drastically improve the urban landscape, reestablishing Seoul as a design landmark by creating public facilities with fun yet impressive design. I will also innovate the transportation sector, such as roads and mobility, to maximize the city’s urban functions. Railways and roads will be placed underground and made into hybrid facilities to create pleasant urban environments and increase vitality.
Furthermore, I will change Seoul into a green ecological city full of forests and water to return leisure and happiness to citizens.
Seoul will transform the inside of the four main gates as a green ecological city where blocks of buildings and groves of trees coexist, and make Yongsan park as an ecological park that can represent Seoul and Korea as part of creating green networks across downtown Seoul.
Additionally, small streams and rivers across all districts will be used to make all of Seoul into a waterfront city, while upgrading mountains which make up one-third of Seoul’s total land area into a natural leisure space.
Nodeul Island, which was previously neglected, will be transformed into an attractive art island and a global attraction.
Fourth, I will make Seoul stand upright through fair and transparent governance.
I will put an end to wasteful spending by reinstating fairness and efficiency in Seoul’s municipal administration.
This was brought to my attention during the ten years of Seoul’s previous mayor where local taxes were wasted by few civic groups having a monopoly on projects during the process of private consignment and subsidy projects.
However, my efforts were halved in the past year due to resistance from the city council dominated by the Democratic Party of Korea.
I will make sure taxes are used for citizens by carefully inspecting whether private consignment and subsidies are correctly provided and not repeatedly supported to specific civil groups, and organize loosely operated projects through revising regulations.
I will increase the public’s trust in municipal administration through transparency, and policies will be innovated and carried out not only by solving current issues, but also by looking into the future.
I will actively communicate humbly with citizens to gain understanding and sympathy, breaking from the traditional, repeated supplier-based business-like communication.
Seoul’s methods must also change to fulfill the promises made with citizens and truly create an attractive city.
I will promote optimistic administration with an endless array of bright ideas and innovation based on passion and creativity, where more passion increases joy, accomplishments, and rewards.
Dear fellow citizens,
My promise for social diversity and inclusion has only just begun.My shoulders are heavy with the responsibility to surely and correctly change Seoul over the next four years.
However, what I can say with certainty is that in my mind, Seoul has a bright future ahead, making my heart pound with anticipation and my two feet ready to see it to the end.
Seoul is a great city with infinite assets and the world’s greatest human resources, infrastructure, green forests, the vast Hangang River, historical attractions, cultural content, and more.
Alongside the great citizens of Seoul and the pride and affection of the nation’s capital, I will make Seoul a socially diverse and inclusive city.
Last but not least, I ask for your continued interest and support.
Thank you.
Dear honorable citizens of Seoul,
This is Oh Se-hoon, 38th Mayor of Seoul.
This past election was filled with desperate wishes in our hearts, and the citizens’ supreme order of realizing fairness and coexistence has become my creed.
Two weeks have passed since I declared to restore Seoul to become a city that is up and running again on April 8, the first day of my mayoralty.
From the very first day, every affair of the Seoul Metropolitan Government was very familiar to me as if I had just returned after my sabbatical.
I spent the two weeks reviewing some pending issues, including responses to COVID-19 and the rapid surge of appraised land value, and perused policies that have changed over the last decade.
I spent every minute of every day thinking only about the citizens.
Honorable citizens of Seoul,
According to the survey of the Seoul Institute, only 14.3% of young Seoul citizens think that they live in a fair society. The fact that only one in seven believe that they live in a fair society exemplifies that our society is in an abnormal situation. The Republic of Korea and the city of Seoul have hibernated over the past years. The uniformly applied business restrictions after the outbreak of the pandemic drove small businesses and the self-employed to the cliff’s edge, and vulnerable classes had to experience falling without any safety gears.
It is dreadful when I imagine a lot of citizens might feel they are beyond recovery in this deteriorating situation of the polarized economy.
In addition to this, the failure of the real estate policy of the government has made almost everyone suffer a disorder referred to as “real estate depression.” Homeowners are suffering from explosive tax hikes, and renters are suffering from feelings of anxiety and deprivation as their dream of owning a house gets farther.
Young people in their 20s and 30s are also suffering while seeking employment and preparing the overwhelming cost of residence! Marriage and childbirth are now out of the picture for them. They have chosen to hide in a cave escaping from the harsh reality and withdraw as they’ve lost courage. A society where young citizens are dispirited has no future. We should go hand in hand to drive out winter and welcome spring.
We may be passing the last opportunity to overcome the great crisis of COVID-19 that is driving our public economy on the edge of a precipice. Now is perhaps the last golden hour to revive the economy of people that can collapse anytime.
There is no time to waste.
Honorable citizens of Seoul,
As the heart of the Republic of Korea, Seoul can rise up and run again. Like a sprinter ready at the starting line, Seoul has the potential energy to run faster than ever before. With that potential, we can take the golden chance to have our city run again to become a city of global competitiveness. We may be living in a society with collapsed fairness and coexistence, but we can start again to rebuild those values. As it is darkest at dawn, we can turn despair into hope right before the sun rises in our city of Seoul.
I will prepare supporting measures for the public economy that can give hope to small businesses and the self-employed, based on the values of fairness and coexistence. I will increase sustainable, high-quality jobs and make Seoul into a hub of future industries that will lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution. I will create a virtuous cycle to save the public economy where Seoul is realized as a city of future innovation and coexistence together with citizens, companies, and experts. I will execute reforms for the future. I will find opportunities in crises to make Seoul a city with supreme global competitiveness. And all the preparations for the reform of Seoul shall begin at this moment.
Honorable citizens of Seoul,
In order to realize the values of fairness and coexistence, which I mentioned earlier, and enhance the competitiveness of Seoul as a city, I hereby make the following five pledges.
First, I will focus not only on disease control and prevention, but also protection of the people’s economy.
With the spread of COVID-19 to local communities last January, 36,222 confirmed cases have occurred in Seoul until today and 443 Seoul citizens have lost their lives.
The number of tourists in Seoul has plummeted to one-sixth and the scale of damage to the tourism industry amounts to KRW 16 trillion. With the social distancing being prolonged due to the continuous spread of COVID-19, the sales of the small businesses in the country decreased by 37.4% on average and the number of jobs for the vulnerable classes, such as day-to-day workers, decreased by more than 700,000.
Moreover, there is a risk of the fourth wave of COVID-19, which follows the third one that continued from last November. Vaccination is conducted slowly due to the shortage of vaccines, which makes it uncertain if we will bee able to achieve the herd immunity of 70%. The agony of ordinary citizens is accumulating for the time being.
My first and foremost task as the mayor of Seoul is to end the pandemic and stabilize the situation. I will maintain the system of disease control and prevention in close partnership with the central government.
However, in the meantime, I will prepare reasonable alternatives for the uniform disease control and prevention regulations that have aggravated the economic difficulties of small businesses and the self-employed, and discuss the implementations with the central government.
I will expand urgent loans and support for small business owners and seek active and effective measures for traditional markets and local commercial areas that have been seriously damaged, as well as businesses in the fields of culture and tourism.
Second, I will give hope to young citizens in their 20s and 30s based on fairness and coexistence.
I met a lot of young people in their 20s and 30s in the process of this past election, and listened to their real-life difficulties related to employment, housing and education.
I feel sorry and proud of our young citizens, who are doing their very best to get employed while spending a lot of time doing part-time jobs for their living. It is true that it has become difficult for young people to live a stable life in Seoul even after they are employed, surpassing the youth unemployment rate of over 10% with a declining number of jobs, as the average amount of deposit money for an apartment is over KRW 600 million in the city.
Young people in Seoul and other parts of the Republic of Korea say that unfairness and inequality lie at the starting point of all these problems. They talk about fairness and coexistence as the solution. Yes. Young people already know the right answer.
Now, Seoul will lead the preparation of policies for the generation of those in their 20s to 30s based on coexistence and fairness. A city where you can receive fair compensation with fair opportunities. A city where young people design their live and earn their own opportunities and jobs. A city where people live a stable life and enjoy happy cultural life. And a city where young people can have hope and it is natural for them to have such hope. These are what I am mapping out for the city of Seoul.
Third, I will carefully but swiftly prepare new housing policies.
Due to the low-interest rate trend that has been long maintained by the central government, the household loan of Seoul increased by 30% and liquidity in the market by more than 25% compared to three years ago.
However, the institutional restriction on reconstruction and redevelopment led to an insufficient supply of houses in the market. The mismatch between supply and demand resulted in a constant rise in the prices of houses in Seoul, and as of last month, the sale price of the apartments in Seoul increased by as much as 45% compared to four years ago.
Such phenomena show that we need a special measure or the instability of the real estate market will continue. Under my direction, Seoul will set the strategies to serve two purposes, the rapid supply of houses and the stabilization of the real estate price.
First of all, I will rapidly supply houses of good quality in areas in need. I will re-examine the urban planning regulations that have been conventionally maintained from square one. As a beginning, I suggested the shortening of the procedure to designate maintenance areas and the relaxing of the criteria of safety inspection to the central government.
I will support the residence stability of ordinary citizens by developing long-term deposit housing and Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation’s SHift program that have deteriorated since its start a decade ago.
Radical measures will be accompanied to prevent speculation in real estate. The SMG will not only designate the land permit area related to major complexes of reconstruction and redevelopment but also concentrate its investigation on abnormal trades that disturb the real estate market. I will, without hesitation, put out embers of instability of real estate prices.
To this end, we need the cooperation of Seoul citizens, among others. I ask for your faith and trust in the real estate policies of Seoul.
Fourth, I will make Seoul a city where single-person households find happiness.
The population living in Seoul is gradually decreasing in the 2000s, but the number of households is continually increasing by 0.6% annually. The percentage of single-person households, in particular, exceeded 33.9% last year, recording the highest in history, and it will continue to rise until 2042, according to Statistics Korea. Now is the time to actively and thoroughly prepare for the changes in population in the future.
Presently, the SMG is operating the special measure task force for single-person households. The five representative anxieties that single-person households suffer are safety, diseases, poverty, loneliness, and residence problems. The special measure task force for single households is streamlining the policies that have been implemented in each field and preparing comprehensive measures covering all fields including cultural and economic supports.
Additionally, the customized policies for each single-person household groups, including the young (i.e. 20s–30s), middle-aged (i.e. +50s) and women, will be prepared and practiced as well based on analysis of each type of single-person households.
My final pledge to honorable citizens of Seoul is that I will prepare a robust vision for enhancing the quality of their life and improving the competitiveness of Seoul.
The economic growth rate of Seoul was -1.3%, below zero points and the employment rate was 59.3%, the lowest in five years. The life of Seoul citizens has become more tightened and fatigued. Seoul is lagging behind in the competition with global cities as well. According to the survey on the prospect of global cities announced by A.T. Kearney, Seoul ranked 10th in 2010 but after ten years, it is now 42nd, going down 32 spots.
However, it is never too late. The world is experiencing a turning point where the Fourth Industrial Revolution is taking place. With a clear vision and thorough strategies, Seoul can take another leap.
I will set a solid direction for the municipal administration to this end. I will prepare a preemptive, long-term, comprehensive, prioritized, and systematic vision.
To make it possible, I will launch the Seoul Vision 2030 Committee in early May. The committee will be divided into five departments—global competitiveness, safety, balanced development, living infrastructure, and fairness and coexistence—and it will develop agendas and alternatives for Seoul. Administrative institutions, policy experts, representatives of citizens’ societies will gather to establish the future vision of Seoul together, upgrading the quality of life of Seoul citizens and improving the competitiveness of the city of Seoul. Like boatmen who row to reach the destination, Seoul will move in perfect order for its 10 million citizens. We will exert the city’s organizational competency.
Honorable citizens of Seoul,
I made the “Design Seoul” brand a decade ago to fill the tangible and intangible environments around the citizens of Seoul with a better quality of design. One example of my efforts is Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), a central anchor facility, and I feel proud that I am delivering the inaugural speech at this place, which has now become a globally renowned attraction.
Today, I lace up the shoes of Seoul again. I make a start for Seoul to get back on its feet without falling or dragging behind. Seoul races again as a city of happiness and a city of fairness and coexistence.
Honorable citizens of Seoul,
As Mayor of Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea, I will work not only with my knowledge but with my heart. I am certain that the projects and businesses implemented based on deliberation and wholeheartedness will not fade away but increase in value as time goes by.
As Mayor of Seoul, I will cooperative actively with the central government and work together and communicate with the city council if necessary for the 10 million citizens of Seoul. I will only think about Seoul citizens when making policies and practicing them.
When we work together, there is nothing we can’t do. I kindly ask for your continued interest and support to the municipal administration of Seoul.
Thank you.