Taming the City Council

Beomdol District solved its chronic parking issues and secured a gym, storage units, a library, and a daycare center, all for a monthly maintenance fee increase of just 40,000 won.

They weren't built yet, but it was a brilliant negotiation!

The residents were happy. At least, on that day.

Ding-dong!

Starting the very next day, men in windbreakers began visiting every household and ringing doorbells.

It was similar to what had happened at Mir City Hall, but the message was the exact opposite.

"Ma'am!"

Yeon Hui-cheol, the representative of Daesan E&M—the firm working on the redevelopment of Beomdol District—spoke to a woman in her sixties at Misojeum Villa with an exasperated sigh.

"How could you just agree to something like that so easily? You need to go through with the redevelopment!"

"Well..."

"We're about to form the union soon! Why on earth did you agree to that?"

"It's still in the planning stages, we only did the first round of negotiations. But it looked quite good? They said grouping the neighborhood residents into a single block would actually be more advantageous for redevelopment."

"No, absolutely not! You've been scammed by Mir City Hall!"

"What?! Scammed?!"

"Other neighborhoods formed unions and made hundreds of millions of won, and you're settling for a new parking lot? If you do that, all they'll do is clear a tiny bit of road and secure a few parking spaces! If we build apartments, we'll dig down to the second basement level for parking. What are you doing?"

"But we don't even know when redevelopment will happen, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and waiting indefinitely is just too hard. Besides, they said we got a B on the safety inspection, so it's impossible right now anyway."

"Aigoo, you're so stubborn, really. There are ways around all of that. Private evaluators can easily issue safety inspections."

Yeon Hui-cheol lowered his voice and whispered.

"We've already aligned things to get a D grade. We just need to push the city hall hard to proceed with the redevelopment based on that! We attack them by saying, 'The city hall's inspection last year was wrong, it's a D, not a B. The city hall's inspection missed something.' We'll release a flood of articles. The civil servants won't be able to hold out!"

"..."

"But what happens if you go along with this garbage block-system policy or whatever it is right now? Huh? What happens? The safety inspection grade will be locked in at B. What can you do about administrative actions that have already been executed?"

The grandmother from Misojeum Villa turned pale.

"Oh my, what should we do? What do we do then?"

"First, sign this."

Yeon Hui-cheol secured her signature first. It was a petition stating that the residents of Beomdol District rejected the previous agreement.

"Thank you."

Yeon Hui-cheol smiled and left, then rang the doorbell next door.

The employees of Daesan E&M persuaded the homeowners they met with arguments like:

"If this neighborhood gets blocked together now, you'll never be able to build apartments here."

"The mayor only has a year and a half left in his term. Do you really think a rootless project like this will continue after he leaves office?"

"Be reasonable. Raymi Castle was built just one kilometer down the road. If we redevelop this place, of course apartments will come in!"

"Raymi Castle completely sold out its pre-sales. This place will definitely sell out too. Why are you trying to give up on an opportunity like this?"

They persuaded tenants with these arguments:

"Even if they tidy up the block, won't rent and maintenance fees end up rising just the same?"

"If this neighborhood is demolished, tenants get compensation too. You can use that to find a new place."

"Let's say they actually do a great job and make this place look beautiful. Do you think the landlords will just sit still? Won't they tell you to leave so they can remodel?"

A wild frenzy swept through Beomdol District.

The group chat with 520 residents was thrown into utter chaos.

Another key point to note about Yeok-dong was that it was close to the subway station, so there were many young working professionals. Most of them naturally couldn't afford to move into an apartment, so they wanted to protect their current housing rights.

Shouting matches even broke out in building lobbies and on the streets.

"What do you think you're doing here?"

"The city already negotiated to protect the tenants while securing a ten percent increase in property value for the homeowners, so why are you trying to ruin it?!"

"Get lost, you bastards! What is this signature sheet? What is it?!"

A moment later, landlords poured out into the streets to join the commotion.

"These are the people securing a redevelopment project for us, why are you harassing them?!"

"What did you say?"

"It's my property and my house! What's wrong with wanting it to become an apartment complex?!"

"No one said that's wrong! But the negotiations are already finished, so why are you trying to overturn them now?!"

As the situation descended into chaos, homeowners who opposed the redevelopment also emerged.

"If we redevelop, we have to move out during construction. It's too exhausting, I can't do it."

"Redevelopment doesn't guarantee you'll make money. Once the union is formed, they keep adding extra union contributions. Even if you get the apartment purchase rights, it's barely a profit!"

Homeowners who wanted redevelopment, homeowners who opposed it, tenants, and Daesan E&M employees all clashed in a massive brawl.

"Of course it's a profit if we redevelop into apartments! What are you talking about?"

"Let's just live the way we always have. They said they'd install tons of amenities! That's enough!"

"I'd rather have my house price go up by ten percent right now than wait for some redevelopment that might never happen!"

"Stop looking only at immediate gains and look at the bigger picture!"

"The city hall is trying to divide us!"

"We were divided from the start, what kind of bullshit is that?! I didn't even see your faces until Saturday."

Watching Beomdol District turn into a complete circus, Yeon Hui-cheol smiled.

This atmosphere itself was advantageous to him. In the real estate business, proceeding is impossible without a general consensus among the residents. Even a 50-50 split fight meant he would win.

And one more thing.

"Assemblyman."

Yeon Hui-cheol called Ha Tae-hun, the Vice Chairman of the City Council.

As soon as Lee Yun-hyeok entered the city council meeting room that Jo Hyeon-seo had reserved, Vice Chairman Ha Tae-hun thrust the interpellation notice forward.

"Aren't we being a bit hasty?"

"The matter is too urgent to delay, Mayor."

Outcries erupted from all sides.

"Let us catch our breath at the end of the year!"

"Why do you keep pushing such important projects without consulting us?"

"Cancel the Beomdol District plan immediately!"

Ha Tae-hun, the Vice Chairman from the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Jayu Party; Choi Hyeon-ju, the Chairperson of the Steering Committee from the Hanmin Party; and other key figures from both parties—Kim Hye-ju, Lee Jeong-hun, Park Seong-hyeon, Na Ju-myeong... A total of eight influential figures from both sides of the aisle had gathered.

"An apartment redevelopment project involves the interests of an immense number of people. You cannot just push it forward so arbitrarily!" Ha Tae-hun shouted.

"When did I push it forward arbitrarily? This was carried out by synthesizing the opinions of 520 residents and tenants out of 208 households in the area, representing 194 households."

"No, not the residents!"

Ha Tae-hun brought up the issue quite blatantly.

"I'm talking about the real estate developers! The builders! Those people have to make a living too, don't they?"

He was so shameless about it that it was almost absurd.

Yun-hyeok didn't answer. He simply stared at Vice Chairman Ha Tae-hun.

Feeling slightly embarrassed under his gaze, Ha Tae-hun let out a dry cough.

"Mayor."

Choi Hyeon-ju, the Chairperson of the Steering Committee who had been listening, chimed in.

"No matter how beautifully you decorate a place like Beomdol District, it will ultimately remain a B-grade residential area. The government's housing policy should focus on supplying new, A-grade residential areas, not on increasing B-grade ones. It only serves to solidify class discrimination among citizens."

"I think there's a misunderstanding. I have never once said that I would not supply new housing," Yun-hyeok replied.

"Of course supply is necessary. A rational supply, that is."

"Beomdol District is more than rational enough—"

Click!

Right then, another guest—one the city council members had not expected—showed up.

"You're a bit late," Yun-hyeok said, pointing to his watch.

"My apologies. My mistake, I went to the wrong floor."

The meeting room fell dead silent.

It wasn't a city council member. It was a member of the National Assembly.

Park Dae-man, a three-term National Assembly member of the Hanmin Party, took off his coat and naturally tossed it to Choi Hyeon-ju, the Chairperson of the Steering Committee. Then, he took her seat.

"A-Assemblyman... How are you..."

The power dynamic between a city council member and a National Assembly member was completely vertical.

The Hanmin Party city council members instantly fell silent before the man who held the power over their future nominations.

"Our local government head here asked me to join him in doing something good for our district."

"That's right. Now that Assemblyman Park Dae-man is here, let's talk about a rational housing supply," Yun-hyeok said.

"Mir City operates its housing policy on a two-track system. To wisely execute our limited budget, we will improve the living environment and restore the community in areas with sufficient sustainability, like Beomdol District, to foster resident integration."

"..."

"And in places like Durim-myeon."

The council members flinched and looked at Park Dae-man.

Durim-myeon was Park Dae-man's district.

"In severely dilapidated areas, it would be far more economical to demolish and rebuild."

Yun-hyeok recalled what he had said to the woman in her sixties at Misojeum Villa.

'I will make sure brokers cannot use malicious tricks to steal the redevelopment rights of Misojeum Villa.'

Conversely, if Beomdol District was developed unjustly, wouldn't that be stealing someone else's rights?

For instance, those of Durim-myeon.

Compared to Beomdol District, Durim-myeon was, on average, over twenty years more deteriorated.

Despite this, the reason it had never been designated as a redevelopment area was simply because 'it lacked business feasibility.'

Even if it was developed, there was no money in it for the builders. The area lacked any landmarks to attract investors, its industries and commercial districts were dead beyond resuscitation, and it was far from any subway stations or highway interchanges. Its population was also continuously declining.

Even if developers succeeded in redeveloping that slum and secured the pre-sale rights, what good would it do if they couldn't sell them?

Thus, although the development of Durim-myeon had been reviewed countless times at the municipal level, it had stalled due to the inability to find private partners.

"But now, with the Ministry of Startups and Startups pouring in sixty billion won, the local economy is entering rehabilitation. The investment industry is quick to react. Many investors are already showing interest. When the government supplies housing, it must do so strategically and selectively. Instead of forcing development in areas pushed by private speculative forces or brokers, we must select and concentrate on places where real demand exists and real results are expected. Furthermore, Durim-myeon requires a significant influx of labor at the administrative level. To allow many young people to come and live there, a housing supply will be necessary."

At this, Choi Hyeon-ju stood up as if having a fit and shouted, "Assemblyman Park Dae-man! The city council was prioritizing the review of Beomdol District's development—"

"Assemblywoman Choi."

But Park Dae-man cut her off.

"Do you and your friends want to be massacred in the next nominations?"

At that heavy, direct threat, Choi Hyeon-ju's shoulders trembled.

"Sit down."

She sat back down, her face pale.

The truly amusing part was that the person who had first introduced Daesan E&M to Choi Hyeon-ju was none other than Park Dae-man.

Originally, they had all been in on it together.

However, upon receiving Yun-hyeok's call, Park Dae-man had cut ties with the brokers without a single second of hesitation.

The general election had ended only eight months ago. Park Dae-man had plenty of breathing room. He didn't need massive political funds right now.

He loved money, of course, but at this point, when he was aiming to become the floor leader, getting entangled with dirty brokers would only cause unnecessary noise.

On the other hand, a project of Durim-myeon's massive scale would become an immense political asset for him.

It was a great picture, wasn't it?

A politician who, in cooperation with an independent local government head, resurrected his dying district into a high-tech industrial complex.

The Hanmin Party had five million members—ten times the population of Mir City. Most of those members didn't even know what Beomdol was.

But the thrilling success of Durim-myeon's redevelopment would serve as a powerful inspiration to those five million members. Park Dae-man's status within the party leadership would skyrocket in an instant.

And perhaps...

'I might actually become the floor leader.'

Park Dae-man chuckled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and asked Yun-hyeok, "What do you want me to do?"

"Please pass an ordinance."

"What kind of ordinance?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Yun-hyeok pulled out the draft.

Cold sweat dripped down Ha Tae-hun's neck.

Even the very first clause was lethal.