Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon rejected President Lee Jae-myung's claim that earlier administrations and Oh's tenure contributed to Seoul's recent home-price surge, urging the president to recognize conditions on the ground and change housing policy. Lee said at a news conference that permits and construction starts had been cut by nearly half from 2022 through last year, reducing supply, and that lifting land transaction permit requirements helped prices surge in some areas. Oh countered that former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon had canceled redevelopment and rebuilding projects across the city, while Seoul prices had fallen and stabilized after Oh began his fourth term before rising around Lee's inauguration. Oh warned that loan constraints and the drying up of jeonse (a lump-sum deposit lease) were undermining the housing prospects of newlyweds and young adults, driving some to give up on living in Seoul. He said pushing young people out and weakening the middle class's ability to buy homes would not constitute balanced development or revive the provinces.