Government considers housing on Yongsan Park site… civil society pushes back

The images created a sense of dread that the park site would be covered with apartments, but they were fictional pictures that differ from the actual plans. In reality, there is a gap between planned residential areas, such as the waterfront development zone, and the actual locations, and the images were in some respects exaggerated.

For the government to use the site for housing supply, the law must be amended, and critics say this would overturn a past promise. In response, the government is reviewing either amending the law or excluding part of the site.

The government is considering two specific approaches to supply housing on the Yongsan Park site. The first is to amend the Yongsan Park Special Act so the land can also be used for non-park purposes. The second is to exclude certain areas from the park boundary and reclassify them as non-park land, so the park as a whole is not damaged. The second approach has been presented as a creative option and is being discussed as a way to supply housing while preserving the park's core functions.

However, Yongsan Park is not freely open to the general public, so it is hard to use in everyday life, and critics say the claim that few people visit does not match reality. It has also been pointed out that the site has historical significance, having been used as a U.S. military golf course, so deciding whether to use it based on visitor numbers alone is difficult.

The site also adjoins Defense Ministry facilities, so height restrictions to protect military installations would also apply. These constraints would significantly affect the scale and form of any housing and would make the project harder to carry out.

The government explained that it was examining which parts of the whole park site could be used for supply, but citizens misread this as building apartments across the entire park and voiced anxiety. Several candidate sites, including the children's garden and officers' housing, are being discussed, but no specific decision has been made.

The government has indicated it could use parts of Yongsan Park whose park function has already been impaired for housing supply. In particular, sites like the U.S. military officers' housing, where buildings previously stood, may be treated as ‘impaired areas’ and are seen as likely candidates because new buildings are easier to construct there. This approach is presented as a compromise that could meet the government's housing goal while preserving the value of the park as a whole. However, a clear standard for which sites count as ‘functionally impaired’ and broader social agreement will likely be needed.