'Politics should solve problems, not assign blame — answers lie in people's lives'
Engaging residents in Gwangjin-gu on urban change, alley commerce and local issues
From youth housing to AI and single-person households: 'Policy must touch real lives'
'If we can't go 100 steps, politics means finding agreement to move 50'
"Politics easily gets consumed by figuring out who is to blame when something goes wrong. But what citizens want is not politics that hunts for culprits — it is politics that solves problems."
Oh Shin-hwan served two terms in the National Assembly — the 19th and 20th — before becoming Seoul's deputy mayor for political affairs. He is now meeting regularly with residents in Gwangjin-gu to examine local issues. Having served as deputy mayor from August 2022 to May 2023, he has focused his attention on issues that touch everyday life: urban planning, alley commerce, and the needs of young people and single-person households.
Oh graduated from Konkuk University, and his spouse also grew up in Gwangjin-gu, making the district a familiar part of his life. Since leaving the deputy mayor post, he has been deepening his engagement with local concerns and expanding his contact with residents.
'Gwangjin needs jobs and commerce, not just housing'
Oh said Gwangjin-gu has long failed to fully integrate housing, employment and the local economy despite its strong locational advantages. A residential-heavy urban structure has prevented local spending and job creation from feeding off each other, leaving the district's competitive potential underused.
"Gwangjin has excellent conditions — the Han River, good transport links — but it has functioned largely as a bedroom community," he said. "Jobs, housing and leisure need to come together for the local commercial scene to thrive and for the district to realize its full value."
Gwangjin-gu has recently seen a wave of redevelopment and reconstruction projects, including Moa Housing and Moa Town initiatives. Oh also identified the modernization of the Dong Seoul Bus Terminal and efforts to attract businesses as key issues that will shape local employment and commerce.
Oh paid particular attention to Gwangjin-gu's housing composition. He said urban planning regulations and delays in redevelopment projects had contributed to a relatively high share of multi-family homes and villas and a comparatively low share of apartments. That history, he said, explains the growing resident expectations surrounding the current expansion of redevelopment activity.
Revitalizing alley commerce is another area he has consistently followed. The number of designated alley shopping districts in Gwangjin-gu has grown to 17. Having been involved in introducing the related policy framework during his time as a lawmaker, Oh believes these districts can serve as a practical engine for local economic vitality.
"When the range of places accepting Onnuri gift vouchers expands, residents gain a spending benefit and small business owners gain an opportunity to grow their sales," he said. "Reviving alley commerce matters just as much as large-scale development."
'Youth and single-household policy must start from real life'
On youth policy, Oh said support should be directly tied to the burdens young people actually face in daily life — housing, employment and access to AI tools. Policy standards should be set from the perspective of young people's lived experience, not from that of the provider, he said.
Citing the Seoul Metropolitan Government's "Youth AI Ladder" project, Oh said AI is becoming a basic tool connecting young people to academic performance, employment and workplace competitiveness. "What matters first is whether a policy genuinely helps young people — not which party or which local leader is behind it," he said.
He said he has also felt the urgency of youth housing problems firsthand. Recounting his experience mediating a deposit refund dispute involving a youth rental housing complex, he said young people just entering the workforce often lack the legal knowledge and practical experience to handle lease disputes, leaving them to shoulder problems for extended periods.
"For a young person, 10 million to 20 million won ($14,900) is enough money to shake the foundation of their life," he said. "Navigating complex legal procedures alone while holding down a job is too much to ask, so the system for accessing administrative and legal support when it is needed most has to be made far more robust."
He also identified the rise of single-person households as an issue Seoul must address with greater precision. In neighborhoods like Hwayang-dong — home to Konkuk University and Sejong University — where young single-person households are concentrated, he said living conditions need to be examined in granular detail, covering housing, safety, health and social connection alike.
"Single-person household support centers and youth spaces should not stop at running preset programs — they need to become channels that listen to the people they serve and translate that into policy," Oh said.
He added that even within the single-person household category, the support needed varies widely by generation and living circumstances — university students, young workers, middle-aged residents and elderly people living alone all have different needs — and that a one-size-fits-all approach must be abandoned.
He has also resumed holding "residents' grievance days," direct meetings with community members that he held more than 100 times during his years as a lawmaker. The sessions bring together residents, city council members and district council members to hear about everyday inconveniences and work toward solutions.
Oh sees this kind of on-the-ground engagement as the starting point of politics. He said the role of politics becomes visible not through grand policy debates but through the process of resolving the problems residents encounter in daily life — housing, commerce, the living environment.
He reflected that his experience in Seoul city administration had changed the way he thinks about politics.
"Politics sometimes ends at pointing out problems and demanding accountability, but administration ultimately has to produce answers," he said. "I learned that even in politics, you have to be capable of actually solving problems."
He also warned against a climate in which policies are judged along partisan lines rather than on their merits. When support or opposition to a policy is determined solely by which party or which local leader is pushing it, the policies citizens genuinely need end up being sidelined, he said.
"If everyone insists only their own position is right, nothing changes in people's lives," Oh said. "If we cannot go 100 steps all at once, making it possible to move 50 steps forward through agreement and compromise — that is what politics is supposed to do."
"What residents want from politicians is not grand rhetoric — it is solutions to the immediate problems of making ends meet and the inconveniences of daily life," he added. "I will keep doing politics that finds answers by engaging directly with residents on the ground."
7toy7@heraldcorp.com
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