Kim Yun-duk, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Oh Se-hoon, Seoul mayor, who have clashed head-on over dwellings supply in Yongsan Park, met in person but failed to find common ground. Oh said if he agreed to convert even part of the Yongsan Park main site into land for dwellings, he would "remain a criminal of history," refusing to back down, while the Minister proposed a public debate, saying "park preservation and dwellings supply for young people and newlyweds can coexist." Still, Seoul City Hall offered a compromise to actively cooperate on dwellings supply using scattered sites around Yongsan Park, and the two sides agreed to continue discussions next week.
◇ "Not even a limited area" vs. "let's hold a public debate"… gap over Yongsan Park reaffirmed
On the morning of the 20th, the Minister and the mayor held a closed-door meeting for about an hour at Conference House Dalgabi in Jung-gu, Seoul, and discussed Seoul's dwellings issues, including dwellings supply in Yongsan Park. It was their first official meeting since the government released its Aug. 13 dwellings supply plan.
Right after the meeting, Oh held a briefing at Seoul City Hall and said, "In conclusion, we were on parallel tracks today regarding Yongsan Park," adding, "I made it very clear, in a very strong tone, that under no circumstances can Seoul City Hall agree to convert the entire site of Yongsan Park to apartment use."
He added, "Yongsan Park is a space for Seoul residents' quality of life and leisure and a key part of the green axis stretching from Namsan to the Han River," saying, "It is hard to agree to converting any portion of the entire site, even a limited area, to residential use."
Oh said in particular, "I made Seoul City Hall's position clear, even using the expression that agreeing to that would result in remaining a criminal of history as Seoul mayor."
That means Oh also opposed the government's plan to selectively use parts of the main site where buildings currently stand or that do not function as a park. The government is reviewing using parts of the main site, such as officers' housing, military apartments, and the former Defense Acquisition Program Administration site, as housing sites.
Oh said, "The military apartments, officers' housing, and Defense Acquisition Program Administration site are all areas designated to be turned into a park," adding, "The Special Act on Yongsan Park does not mean only restoring areas that remained green space; its intent is to create a park across the entire main site."
He went on, "The current Yongsan Park main site is not a park with a lot of greenery, but an area used by the military, paved with concrete or used for various purposes," adding, "The idea is to create a national park like Seoul Forest by building forests, lawns, and walking trails, and we cannot agree with the logic that there is no need to turn it into a park because there are buildings now."
Minister Kim also did not back down from the existing stance. After the meeting, he said, "We confirmed the differences and also the parts where there were misunderstandings," explaining that the government is not seeking to convert the entire Yongsan Park into land for dwellings, but is looking at the possibility of limited dwellings supply focused on already damaged areas.
The Minister said, "Protecting Yongsan Park and supplying dwellings for young people and newlyweds are not mutually exclusive," adding, "I proposed that we find a way for them to coexist." He continued, "It could be a forum or a public deliberation committee," expressing an intention to review use plans through a public debate process.
The government still did not decide which sites within Yongsan Park would actually be used for dwellings supply on this day. Oh said, "I asked several times exactly which site they had in mind, but they never specified until the end," adding, "The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT)'s position is that it is still considering which parts, such as officers' housing, military apartments, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration site, and the Children's Garden."
◇ Outside Yongsan Park, a compromise… in the International Business District, '8,000 vs. 10,000 households'
While they ran on parallel tracks over the Yongsan Park main site, Seoul City Hall presented a compromise that it could cooperate on supply using surrounding sites.
Oh said, "As for scattered sites near the Yongsan Park main site, I presented a compromise to discuss them flexibly," mentioning the Camp Kim and Gyeongnidan sites and the Bank of Korea and Ministry of Foreign Affairs parking lot sites. He added, "For these potentially usable surrounding sites, I counterproposed that Seoul City Hall is willing to proactively review and actively help with issues such as transportation measures and the installation of urban infrastructure, including water and sewer systems."
Differences also remained over the scale of dwellings supply in the Yongsan International Business District. Seoul City Hall argues for 8,000 households, while MOLIT argues for 10,000 households.
Oh said, "We couldn't discuss the Yongsan International Business District at length," adding, "Seoul City Hall stands at 8,000 units and MOLIT at 10,000 units, as before."
He continued, "In between, if Representative Kwon Young-se and Yongsan District Chief Park Hee-young meet and present a compromise that can be crafted at the Yongsan-gu level, I have said Seoul City Hall will provide support commensurate with it," adding, "I heard the two confirmed rather hard-line positions, so we decided to continue discussing this part later."
The two sides also differed over additional greenbelt releases. Oh reaffirmed that his agreement to develop the Seoripul district was conditional on supplying long-term jeonse dwellings for newlyweds under the "Mirinae House" program and on addressing low birthrates, and that he would not agree to additional greenbelt releases. The Minister's position is that limited use is possible, focusing on damaged areas or places with vinyl greenhouses.
◇ Oh: "Even starting construction on Yongsan Park within the term is difficult"… calls for easing loan and redevelopment regulations
Oh argued that rather than building youth rental dwellings in Yongsan Park, financial support and easing regulations on maintenance projects that young people can feel immediately should come first.
He said, "For Yongsan Park, we need to amend the law, resolve soil contamination, and establish transportation measures before starting construction," adding, "I think it is almost impossible to even break ground within this administration's term." He continued, "Rather than Seoul City Hall and MOLIT being sharply at odds over something that will happen years later, it is better to review effective policies that can bring immediate benefits to young people and deliver results."
On this day, Oh asked the Minister to consider raising the eligible dwellings price for the Didimdol mortgage to around 900 million won and expanding the loan limit to 600 million won. Regarding the "Youth Future Bogeumjari Loan" the government released in the Aug. 13 plan, he also proposed expanding current eligibility—non-apartments priced at 400 million won or less—to include apartments and raising the support limit to around 800 million won.
The Youth Future Bogeumjari Loan the government released in the Aug. 13 plan is a product that provides policy financing when those 39 or under purchase a non-apartment priced at 400 million won or less. Financial authorities have also left the door open to including apartments as eligible in the future, depending on operational performance and market conditions.
Oh repeatedly called for easing regulations to speed up redevelopment and reconstruction projects. He said the temporary easing of restrictions on transferring association member status, raising floor area ratios in redevelopment zones, and adding flexibility to mandatory ratios for rental dwellings are needed to improve profitability. He also proposed easing the guarantee requirements of the Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) for the Youth安心 Dwellings project.
Oh also strongly pushed back against criticism from some in the government that Seoul City Hall is blocking dwellings supply for political purposes.
He said, "The slanderous claim that the Seoul mayor is delaying dwellings supply for political reasons is something to laugh off," adding, "The claim that Seoul City Hall is blocking supply is something that would make civil servants in the departments related to dwellings faint."
However, the two sides did not label the meeting a breakdown and decided to continue talking. Oh said, "Today's meeting did not mean the talks collapsed," adding, "We agreed to keep discussing next week as well, and the door to communication is open. We will keep discussing where we can craft a compromise."
The Minister also said, "We agreed to meet again next week to continue the conversation." Although the gap between the two sides over the Yongsan Park main site remains, discussions are expected to continue to find common ground focusing on other supply plans, such as using scattered sites around the park and easing regulations on maintenance projects.