Oh Se-hoon to President Lee: "You Must Completely Reset Your Mindset on Housing Prices"

"Please Truly See the Reality Facing Young People and Newlyweds"

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon criticized President Lee Jaemyung, saying, "You can blame me, Oh Se-hoon, a hundred times if you want," but added, "Instead, I want you to properly acknowledge the reality of young people who are frustrated because they cannot find housing, and newlyweds who give up on buying a home at the threshold of getting a loan. Before the lives of citizens get any worse, the president must completely reset his mindset first."

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced the G3 Seoul Plan at Seoul City Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 10th. September 10, 2026 Photo by Kim Hyunmin

On the 18th, Mayor Oh wrote a post on his Facebook page titled "You May Blame Oh Se-hoon," stating, "The President is trapped in a misguided conviction and is refusing to face reality."

Earlier in the day, President Lee said at a press conference, "Since 2022, the number of housing permits and construction starts in Seoul has been reduced by half," directly criticizing both the Yoon Suk Yeol administration and Mayor Oh.

Mayor Oh responded, "It is an undeniable fact, regardless of how much the president wishes to deny it, that it was Mayor Park Won-soon who lifted all redevelopment and reconstruction restrictions across Seoul and eliminated the process entirely. If the president had properly reviewed the reports on redevelopment and reconstruction progress submitted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, he would have found it difficult to make such statements today. I cannot help but wonder whether he never looked at the report at all, or only chose to see the parts he wanted to believe."

He further commented, "It appears that the president is relying solely on selective data," adding, "He seems to believe that the 'leveling up' of housing prices in the outer regions of Seoul is only a temporary phenomenon."

Mayor Oh continued, "The housing ladder for young people and newlyweds in Seoul is on the verge of complete collapse," and asserted, "Pushing young people out of Seoul and extinguishing the homeownership dreams of the middle class cannot be considered balanced development."

He remarked, "If the rise in Seoul's housing prices is truly my fault, then why was I re-elected as mayor, and why does the president's approval rating keep falling in Seoul? I hope the president will at least acknowledge the reality unfolding on the ground."

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