Collective action by local government residents opposing the government's Jan. 29 dwellings supply plan is gaining momentum. Yongsan-gu residents in Seoul have begun preparing a condolence wreath protest against supplying 10,000 units to the international business district, while Gwacheon residents are hanging banners throughout the city.
According to Yongsan-gu and others on the 4th, the "Residents' group for proper development of the Yongsan International Business District and protection of urban functions" will hold a condolence wreath protest from 10 a.m. that day around the maintenance depot site behind Yongsan Station. In a Kakao open chat room (1,180 participants), posts certifying condolence wreath orders are being uploaded. The condolence wreaths read, "Policy failure that destroys Yongsan in the international business district."
They argue that if the proportion of dwellings increases, the function and identity of the international business district could be damaged. They also stressed that supplying 10,000 units would reduce the international business district to a residential complex that does not fit its original purpose. Ju, a Yongsan-gu resident who said the person would join the condolence wreath protest, Ju, 54, said, "The name is the international business district, so how does it make sense to pack it densely with 'chicken-coop' apartments," adding, "The government is actually weakening Seoul's competitiveness."
Yongsan-gu residents have also filed a request for information disclosure against the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, led by attorney Cho Sang-hyeon. They are demanding disclosure of the basis for calculating 10,000 units and consultation records with related agencies, with 2,863 participants as of 6 p.m. on the 2nd. They said that if they judge the government's basis for the decision insufficient or find procedural defects, they will consider a lawsuit against the government.
The Seoul city government and Yongsan-gu Council are also amplifying residents' voices. On the 5th, a "Yongsan International Business District, residents' forum on dwellings supply" hosted by Seoul City Council member Kim Yong-ho will be held, and on the 6th, a "residents' countermeasures meeting opposing the supply of 10,000 dwellings in the international business district" presided over by Yongsan-gu Council Chair Kim Seong-cheol is scheduled.
Opposition is also growing in Gwacheon. The government included in the Jan. 29 plan the transfer of the Gwacheon Racecourse and the Defense Counterintelligence Command and the supply of 9,800 dwellings. Gwacheon residents immediately formed an emergency response committee right after the plan was announced. The committee hung banners throughout Gwacheon that read, "Absolute opposition to dwellings supply with racecourse transfer," "9,800-unit dwellings bomb on racecourse and counterintelligence command sites will bring traffic hell and a sewage crisis!" and "Don't turn Gwacheon into traffic hell."
The Gwacheon City Council also demanded a complete withdrawal of the government's dwellings supply plan. The council held an extraordinary session on the 2nd and adopted a "resolution urging the withdrawal of the plan to supply 9,800 dwellings on the Gwacheon Race Park and Defense Counterintelligence Command sites." The resolution states that Gwacheon is currently pushing four development projects simultaneously—Knowledge Information Town, Juaam District, Gwacheon District, and Galhyeon District—and is nearing capacity in transportation, education, and environment overall, so the additional dwellings supply plan should be fully withdrawn.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) is flatly refuting these claims. On the 2nd, the ministry issued an explanatory press release saying that with a supply standard of 6,000 units, the residential share of the Yongsan International Business District is 29.2%, not higher than Hong Kong Union Square (55%), Boston Seaport (42.4%), and New York Hudson Yards (32.3%). Regarding the Gwacheon racecourse and counterintelligence command, it said it would review multiple alternatives, establish wide-area traffic improvement measures, and strengthen self-sufficiency functions to a level exceeding the self-sufficient land ratio (17.8%) of the Gwacheon Knowledge Information Town.