As the government considers using part of Yongsan Park as land for dwellings, the debate is spreading into an "AI meme public-opinion battle." Following a mock image of Namsan blocked by apartment buildings as seen from the National Museum of Korea, images have appeared showing the Blue House, the National Assembly building, and the government Gwacheon Complex sites filled with high-rise apartments. The government moved to explain that these were exaggerated images that differ from the actual topography or supply concepts.
On the 21st, social media platforms and online communities such as X, Threads, and Naver Cafe saw images created by AI showing high-rise rental apartments built around the Blue House. They are mock images unrelated to any real development plans.
Posters argued that, given the push to build the president's Sejong office, the Blue House site should also be used to supply youth and rental dwellings. One poster wrote, "If the president's office is transferred to Sejong, let's build rental dwellings at the Blue House." The point is that if Yongsan Park can be used as land for dwellings, there is no reason to exclude the Blue House Nokjiwon from development.
President Lee Jae-myung said at a Cabinet meeting he chaired at the Government Complex Sejong on the 11th that "we will open the era of the Sejong office within our government's term." The government aims to build facilities with a total floor area of about 40,000 square meters, including the president's office and residence and a crisis management center, on a 250,000-square-meter site in Sejong-dong, Sejong, and move in by Aug. 2029.
An AI image that turned the National Assembly site in Yeouido, Seoul, into an apartment complex also appeared. One post said, "Move the National Assembly to Sejong and develop West Yeouido at high density." The poster argued that since the National Assembly site is about 330,000 square meters, applying a floor area ratio of 500% would allow the supply of about 15,000 apartment units.
However, that is a simple calculation that does not reflect the areas for roads, parks, and public facilities. The National Assembly Sejong building currently being pursued is not a project to transfer the entire main body of the National Assembly. It is a branch that moves some functions, including 11 standing committees and the Special Committee on Budget & Accounts, while the main chamber and the National Assembly speaker's office remain in Seoul.
These AI memes extend the government's logic of using public land by turning the question back to the Blue House and the National Assembly. Users opposed to supplying dwellings in Yongsan Park are also sharing mock images of high-rise apartments going up on other public sites, such as the government Gwacheon Complex.
The controversy began with the "National Museum apartment view" image, which showed the view of Namsan from the National Museum of Korea blocked by apartments. On the 8th, Yongsan residents installed about 300 condolence wreaths near Yongsan Children's Garden and demanded the withdrawal of the review to supply dwellings.
As related images and reports spread, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport released an explanatory note on the 20th. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) said, "Yongsan Children's Garden is west of the National Museum of Korea, so it cannot block the museum's front or the direction of Namsan Seoul Tower as in the mock images." The government also said that the specific sites and scale for building dwellings have not been decided.
Opinions online are split over the AI memes, with some calling them a "21st-century petition showing that public institutions are no exception" and others noting that they "stir public opinion with images that differ from the facts."
A real estate expert said, "It has become an era when policy criticism spreads quickly beyond text into visual memes," and added, "AI images can be a powerful tool in shaping public opinion, but they must be clearly distinguished so they are not taken as actual plans."