Oh Sehoon to Attend Cabinet Meeting... Delivers 'Real Estate Message' to President

First Attendance Since Fifth-Term Election as Seoul Mayor
Proposals to Include Easing Regulations and Expanding Supply
Must Obtain Permission to Speak as an Observer

Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon will attend a Cabinet meeting for the first time since winning his fifth term, marking his first appearance in about a year. The Seoul Metropolitan Government has been calling on the central government to ease regulations in order to expand housing supply.

On July 14, Mayor Oh will take part in a Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Office, where he plans to share his views on the government’s real estate policies. He will attend the meeting as an observer, while President Lee Jaemyung presides over the session.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is participating in the national anthem ceremony with attendees at the '40th Seoul Mayor Inauguration Ceremony' held at the multipurpose hall of Seoul City Hall on July 1, 2026. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

According to the Cabinet meeting regulations, the Mayor of Seoul is not a Cabinet member but may participate as an observer along with local government heads and other high-ranking officials when necessary. A senior official from Seoul City stated, “Mayor Oh was asked by the Presidential Office whether he would attend the Cabinet meeting as an observer, and he conveyed his intention to participate.”

This is Mayor Oh’s first Cabinet meeting appearance in about a year since August last year, and his first since being elected to a fifth term as Seoul Mayor in the June 3 local elections. After President Lee's election, Mayor Oh attended the first Cabinet meeting held in June last year, and was also present in August for the Eulji military exercise.

During the last election campaign, Mayor Oh pledged to attend Cabinet meetings if elected and directly convey Seoul citizens’ real estate sentiment and policy proposals to President Lee. The “Five Major Orders of Seoul Citizens (3Bu2Min),” which Mayor Oh promised to deliver frankly to the President, include the “Three Urgent Real Estate Policy Reforms”: normalizing conditions for redevelopment and reconstruction projects by lifting restrictions on relocation loan regulations and the transfer of union membership; revitalizing the supply of private rental housing to address the shortage of rental properties; and introducing safeguards to prevent excessive real estate taxation.

Mayor Oh has previously stated, “The tax burden on single homes below the median price in Seoul should be limited to below the inflation rate, and property tax assessment brackets should be rationally adjusted to reflect current housing prices,” adding, “We will work together with the government to find solutions.”

However, as an observer, Mayor Oh must be granted permission to speak by the chair in order to present his opinions. He is reportedly planning to explain the current housing market situation in Seoul in a calm manner, in line with the tone of the Cabinet meeting, and to emphasize the need for a change in policy, rather than criticizing the government’s stance.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.