The South Korean government and civilian experts earlier this week passed a revised plan to further expand a national park in Yongsan, central Seoul, on land returned by the US Forces Korea.

The panel decided to move the proposed site for new headquarters of the National Police Agency to a different location, and extend Yongsan Family Park to the area spanning 13,200 square meters.

The park, encompassing the War Memorial and the National Museum will ultimately stretch nearly 3 million square meters by 2027, the largest in the country and slightly smaller than New York’s Central Park.

The USFK began vacating its Yongsan Garrison in 2017 to be relocated to Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.

With the park’s extension, the urban greenery will stretch from the Han River up to Namsan without any interruption, the government officials said. 

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)