After the government said it would supply dwellings by using the entire Yongsan Park site, the Seoul Metropolitan Government expressed concern about green space damage and stressed that it "must be very cautious."
Spokesperson Lee Min-gyeong of the Seoul Metropolitan Government said in a statement on Aug. 14 that there is no change in the city's position that it must be very cautious about supplying dwellings by damaging Yongsan Park, Seoul's last large urban green space.
The Spokesperson said, Yongsan Park is not a mere idle site but a valuable national asset that must protect citizens' lives in the era of climate crisis and be passed down intact to future generations, and the basic intent of the Yongsan Park Creation Special Act is precisely to preserve Yongsan Park as much as possible and create it as a space for the public's leisure and rest and for natural ecology.
The official added, I would like to make it clear once again that this is not a matter to push ahead with, without sufficient social discussion and consensus, just to meet immediate supply targets.
Earlier, Minister Kim Yun-duk of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said at a news conference marking the first anniversary of taking office at the Government Complex Sejong that the government is reviewing using the entire Yongsan Park, beyond Yongsan Children's Garden, as a site to supply dwellings.
The Minister said, We are considering ways to build houses by overcoming issues such as contamination and consultations with the U.S. military regarding various large and small sites in Yongsan, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) is keeping all possibilities open in reviewing the supply of dwellings.