Friction between the central government and the city of Seoul over the possible conversion of a green space in central Seoul is escalating, as the Lee Jae Myung administration prepares to announce plans to expand housing supply.
A Cheong Wa Dae official hinted Sunday that a new set of real estate measures will be announced this week. Although details are yet to be confirmed, it is widely expected that the announcement will be made on Thursday.
As part of its plan, the government is reportedly preparing to source vacant lands to build more than 50,000 houses in the Seoul metropolitan area, while speeding up move-ins by streamlining administrative procedures and reforming regulations.
The push is part of the Lee administration's efforts to stabilize the real estate market and reform property tax and loan regulations.
One potential site is reportedly the Yongsan Children's Garden in Seoul. The park, opened in 2023, is located on land formerly occupied by the US Army's Yongsan Garrison, whose main command operations and personnel relocated to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek starting in 2017. Parts of the former base have since been opened to the public as Yongsan Park.
Subsidy projects at the 3 million square-meter site returned by the US Army are managed by the Korean Land & Housing Corporation. The state-run company acquires land and builds affordable housing under the supervision of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
Current law designates the former military base for use as a national park and prohibits other uses of the land. Building houses in Yongsan Children's Garden would require adding an exception clause to the law or removing the site from its current legal jurisdiction.
Other potential sites reportedly include restricted development zones in Gangnam and Yeouido owned by the Korean Land & Housing Corporation.
The possible development of Yongsan Children's Garden immediately drew criticism from Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon.
"I cannot allow damaging even a centimeter of Yongsan Park," Oh said in a Facebook post Saturday. "Increasing housing supply is essential, but there is a principle we must uphold."
Calling Yongsan Park "Seoul's lungs," Oh said that more green areas should be saved for the city and future generations.
Oh also accused Lee of going against previous administrations from the ruling bloc. Oh said former President Roh Moo-hyun called the site "a precious asset" and that Roh had called for "not building a single building on its grounds."
"The Moon Jae-in administration inherited the philosophy and carried out the plan to landscape Yongsan Park as a green space," Oh added, saying that building apartments on the site would go against the principles and philosophies built by previous Democratic Party presidents.
Yongsan-gu council members from the main opposition People Power Party released a statement on Friday criticizing the government for unilateral action on housing development, saying, "The Yongsan site is urban ecology that all people should have access to."
mjcha@heraldcorp.com
