Oh Se-hoon: 'The worry should be housing costs, not multiculturalism'

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on Wednesday took issue with President Lee Jae-myung's string of remarks on multiculturalism, saying, "The matter the president should be focusing on day after day is people's worries over jeonse and monthly rents and how to solve them." Oh made the remark while speaking to reporters after attending a forum titled 'Preserving World Heritage and the Future of Cities: Finding a Path to Coexistence,' held at a National Assembly members' office building in Seoul. President Lee said on the 28th of last month that he would review whether to abolish preferential policies for multicultural families, and has continued commenting on the issue via social media for the fourth consecutive day.

Oh added, "If the president had expressed concern about housing costs for four days straight amid a reality where jeonse units are unavailable and jeonse and monthly rents are skyrocketing, I think it would have won him even more support and reassured the public." On the review of abolishing preferential treatment for multicultural families, however, he assessed, "Citizens cannot help but be sensitive about anything that puts them at a disadvantage, and rationally adjusting such policies is necessary," calling it "a desirable direction to set."

Oh also raised criticism of the Future Response Fund proposed in the president's National Assembly policy address. "If the government spends this year's excess tax revenue in the direction you described, a national disaster is obviously bound to come," the Seoul mayor warned, adding, "If all the excess tax revenue is exhausted on handout-style cash spending, typical side effects such as inflation and surging real estate prices are to be expected."