The government plan to supply 1,000 public dwellings on damaged land in Yeomchang Park in Seoul's Gangseo District, left unattended for 20 years, has run into the variable of land compensation. The government aims to break ground in 2029 by carrying out permits and compensation procedures at the same time, but when development was previously reviewed, 96% of the site was private property and ownership relations appeared complex. With resident pushback continuing at other supply sites such as Gwacheon Racecourse and Taereung Country Club in Seoul's Nowon District, the speed campaign for the government's housing supply is expected to hinge on compensation and persuading residents.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 14th, supply sites newly released in the Aug. 13 dwellings supply plan in Seoul are three locations in total: 1,000 dwellings at Yeomchang Park, 270 dwellings on the former Gonghang High School site in Gangseo District, and 250 dwellings on the Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) Seoul Regional Headquarters site in Gangnam District.
Among them, Yeomchang Park is a project to develop 50,711 square meters of long-neglected damaged land into a public housing district. In 1990, Gangseo District approved a private park project on the condition of creating youth cultural facilities, a senior lounge, an outdoor performance hall, and more. However, when the operator ran only a golf practice range without properly building resident amenities, the designation of the project implementer was canceled in 2006, and in 2009 the district shut the business down ex officio.
Afterward, development drifted for nearly 20 years as equity in the land was split among several owners and ownership itself changed. According to materials released when a local lawmaker's office reviewed development plans with the Seoul Housing and Urban Development Corporation in 2023, 96% of the site at the time was private property.
The government plans to break ground on Yeomchang Park in 2029 by proceeding in parallel with district designation, district plan establishment, compensation, and site preparation. However, given that past efforts fell through for lack of massive compensation funding, it is unclear whether compensation talks with landowners will be completed on schedule.
An employee at a real estate agency in Yeomchang-dong said, "The government's plan presumes that compensation and relocation procedures will be completed within 24 months," and noted, "Because the ownership of the land is complex, we have to see whether compensation talks will proceed smoothly."
Gangseo District welcomed the project, saying it would resolve a long-standing resident wish of 20 years. On the other hand, some residents complain that public dwellings are concentrated in certain areas. A resident in their 30s living in Gangseo District said, "There are already many public dwellings in Gayang, Deungchon, and Banghwa-dong and in the Magok district," and added, "Isn't the supply of public dwellings being concentrated in Gangseo again?"
In Yeomchang-dong, Woosung Phases 1 and 2 and the Samchully Apartment complex are pursuing an integrated reconstruction. The area is designated as a quasi-industrial zone, which slowed redevelopment, but Seoul City's deregulation now allows a floor area ratio of up to 400% for redevelopment projects. Growing reconstruction expectations in the surrounding area are also cited as a background for some residents' concerns about the additional supply of public dwellings.
Resident conflicts are continuing at supply sites announced earlier. The government said it would start construction on all 43,500 public dwellings on sites in the Seoul metropolitan area released in the Jan. 29 plan by 2030. Major project sites include 9,800 dwellings at Gwacheon Racecourse and the Counterintelligence Command, and 6,800 dwellings at Taereung Country Club.
In Gwacheon, opposition continues over reasons such as a decrease in local government tax due to the transfer of the racecourse, traffic woes, and job insecurity for related workers. Residents near Taereung Country Club also oppose development, citing traffic congestion, damage to green space, and the preservation of Taereung and Gangneung. The emergency committee opposing the relocation of Gwacheon Racecourse Park and the residents' group opposing development at Taereung Country Club plan to hold a joint rally on the 28th in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul.
Lee Eun-hyeong, a research fellow at the Korea Research Institute for Construction Policy, said, "Even if the government creates a model for the shortest-possible groundbreaking on public sites, it will be hard to apply it in the same way to places that require the transfer of large-scale facilities like the Gwacheon Racecourse," and added, "In addition to administrative procedures, the time required for compensation, transfer, and resident consultations must be taken into account."