No Additional Designation of New Town: Seoul Mayor

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon reaffirmed that there would be no additional designation of “New Town” until the first to third projects take shape.

In an interview with the Pyunghwa Broadcasting Corporation on radio Monday morning, Oh said, “At a time when an additional designation of “New Town” may heat up real estate prices, Seoul city will not begin a new project. Instead, we`ll consider designating a fourth one after a substantial progress has been made in the existing first to third projects.”

Oh’s remarks have poured cold water over the campaign pledges of the April 9 parliamentary election winners, many of whom promised to attract "New Town" projects to their districts.

The mayor also said, “There are signs of overheating in the real estate market especially in the northern part of the city after the elections. Just mentioning the words “New Town” by the city government may drive up real estate prices. So we need to be prudent about bringing up new projects.”

uni@donga.com