Blue House says Seoul mayor shares responsibility for city's housing problems
In short
A Blue House official said on Oct 7 that Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon also bears responsibility for the capital's real estate problems and asked him to work with the government on housing supply and jeonse and monthly-rent difficulties. The official said President Lee Jae-myung's increased social media activity reflects a push to communicate directly with the public amid falling approval ratings and what he called accumulated misunderstandings about policy. The Blue House declined to comment on former President Yoon Suk-yeol's acquittal on appeal, or on who will replace resigning chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik.
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A Blue House official said on Oct 7 that Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is not free of responsibility for the capital's real estate problems, and asked him to cooperate with the government. “Isn't Mayor Oh also not free of responsibility for Seoul's real estate problems?” the official told reporters, adding that he asked Oh to “work with the government on this issue and step up to resolve supply problems and the jeonse and monthly-rent difficulties.” The official prefaced the remarks by saying he was not sure it was appropriate to comment on the mayor's statements. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
The remarks came after Oh repeatedly criticised the government's real estate policy. On Oct 6, according to Korea Economic Daily, the mayor attacked President Lee Jae-myung's social media post presenting housing supply results, saying the public's lives were too urgent to watch the president's “mental victory.” Asia Economy described the Blue House's response as stressing that the Seoul city government is also a co-owner of responsibility for supply and housing stability in the capital region. [ 2 , 3 ]
Asked about concern over the president's increased social media activity, the official said Lee has communicated through social media consistently, including during his time as Seongnam mayor and Gyeonggi governor. He added that the president appears to view the current situation as desperate, that national approval ratings have in fact fallen somewhat, and that the posts reflect a will to communicate actively with the public and to clear up what he described as accumulated misunderstandings about government policy. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
The official said the Blue House had no special position to announce on former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was acquitted on appeal in a case involving free opinion polling from political broker Myung Tae-kyun. He also declined to discuss the successor to chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik, who has offered to resign, saying he did not know who was being mentioned as a candidate and that it was not appropriate to answer personnel questions. As a partial answer, he noted that Kang watched the Nuri rocket launch with the president that day; Asia Economy reported the launch was the fifth Nuri flight and that policy chief Ha Jun-kyung and AI future planning secretary Lee Hae-min watched it with them. [ 1 , 3 ]
The four reports on the briefing were published between 17:47 and 22:30 local time on Oct 7, and none of them named the official who spoke. The documents do not say whether Kang's resignation has been accepted or when a replacement will be announced. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
Why it matters
The exchange puts the presidential office and the Seoul city government on opposite sides of the capital's housing supply and rent problem, a policy area that officials themselves link to falling national approval ratings. With the mayor publicly attacking the government's real estate record, the Blue House's call for cooperation signals the dispute is likely to continue in public.
Key facts
- A Blue House official said Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is not free of responsibility for Seoul's real estate problems [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- The official asked Oh to work with the government on resolving housing supply problems and jeonse and monthly-rent difficulties [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- The official said President Lee Jae-myung's active use of social media is not new, citing his time as Seongnam mayor and Gyeonggi governor [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- The official said national approval ratings have fallen and that misunderstandings about government policy have accumulated [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- The Blue House said it would not take a position on former President Yoon Suk-yeol's acquittal on appeal [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- The official declined to discuss the successor to chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik, noting Kang watched the Nuri rocket launch with the president that day [ 1 , 3 ]
- Oh Se-hoon criticised President Lee's social media post on housing supply results on Oct 6 [ 2 , 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- A Blue House official said Oh Se-hoon is not free of responsibility for Seoul real estate problems and urged him to cooperate with the government [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- The Blue House said it had no special position to announce on former President Yoon Suk-yeol's acquittal on appeal [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- The Blue House said President Lee's active social media communication is long-standing rather than new [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
Still unclear
- Who will replace chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik, and when The Blue House official said he did not know who was being mentioned as a successor and that it was not appropriate to answer personnel questions; documents 1 and 3 give no name or date
- Whether Kang Hoon-sik's offer to resign has been accepted The documents say only that he expressed his intention to resign; none state that it was accepted
- The identity of the Blue House official who made the remarks Documents 1, 3 and 4 attribute the comments only to a Blue House official, without a name
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon criticises President Lee Jae-myung's social media post on housing supply results, saying the public's lives are too urgent to watch the president's “mental victory” [ 2 , 3 ]
- Yonhap publishes the Blue House official's remarks to reporters [ 1 ]
- Korea Economic Daily publishes its report on the remarks [ 2 ]
- Asia Economy publishes its report, adding that chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik watched the Nuri rocket launch with the president [ 3 ]
- Maeil Business publishes its report on the remarks [ 4 ]