New measures to expedite housing redevelopment projects and deter real estate speculation are among a raft of policies currently in the works, Seoul’s mayor said Monday, as the city looks to supply 240,000 new housing units by 2025 to combat rising home prices.

In a meeting with reporters Monday, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said his ambition to alleviate the regulatory pressure affecting real estate reconstruction and renovation projects in the city remained “unfazed,” as his office was preparing to announce new measures in the coming weeks.

The mayor promised during his election campaign that his office would supply 48,000 new housing units per year if he served for five years. Oh’s term ends in June 2022, but he has vowed to run again and extend his term for another four years.

Oh said during the meeting that around 92 percent of the city’s 489 redevelopment projects were proceeding as planned and that only a small number of the remaining areas were experiencing delays as a result of increased public attention.

“No additional reconstruction areas have been designated since 2015, and the city government will be able to finalize measures showing Seoul’s will to relieve regulatory pressure on areas in need,” Oh said.

“But the announcement date of the measure will be determined in line with the goal of minimizing chaos on the market.”

The mayor made clear that he would be tough on real estate speculation, which has been blamed for driving up housing prices in the city. Discussions with the Land Ministry are underway toward joint measures to deter real estate speculation.

“We have designated areas allowed for land transactions as there were regions seeing their real estate prices go up since I took office,” Oh said. “We are working with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to introduce new regulations on actions that cause disturbance in the market.”

Separately, in regards to the pandemic, Oh said Seoul would not buy any COVID-19 vaccines on its own, emphasizing that virus control should be dealt with on a national level to minimize confusion among regions.

“I remain firm with a stance that it is not adequate for individual regional governments to secure vaccines on their own,” he said.

“I have been approached with many offers from various routes to acquire vaccines but I have set myself a stance that it is more beneficial to have the central government take the lead in managing the supply of vaccines.”

The mayor said his office would instead concentrate on increasing the supply of self-testing kits for businesses to use, which he said would help identify hidden cases quickly while protecting the interests of business owners.

He said the self-testing kits approved for use at the moment in Korea were safe and accurate enough to be exported and used in other countries, and should be more widely used in Seoul for the benefit of its people.

The mayor added that the Seoul government continued to develop its own social distancing rules that would take into account the interests of small-business owners, whose income had taken a hit during the pandemic.

He acknowledged that the city government was considering making changes to existing regulations on drinking in public, but assured residents that enough time would be given to adjust to the new rules.

It is unclear at the moment what measures the Seoul Metropolitan Council will seek to pass on alcohol consumption in public. The mayor said there would be a grace period of up to a full year, and then only after the measure underwent a comprehensive review by citizens, officials and experts.

“As you probably know, there aren’t that many countries giving this much freedom on drinking in public places, and that’s an objective fact,” he added.

“Regulatory fixes could be required in response to the new legislative revision coming into effect, and as you know, Seoul already has a similar municipal law on this issue, which would need some revision.”

A revision to the National Health Promotion Act that comes into effect June 30 will allow local governments to designate public places as alcohol-free zones and impose fines of 100,000 won ($88) for violations.

Oh mentioned that the city could revise its municipal law for a healthier drinking culture in line with the revision. The idea was floated earlier by a disease control official within the city government.

By Ko Jun-tae (ko.juntae@heraldcorp.com)