Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon reaffirmed his opposition to the government's review of supplying dwellings on part of the Yongsan Park site, saying, "No mayor of any major city in the world would agree to convert a planned park site into residential land on the grounds of a sharp rise in real estate prices."
Instead, after presenting an alternative of supplying dwellings by using the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center site, he said up to 8,000 households could be supplied in the Yongsan International Business District if school land is secured.
On the 27th, appearing at the second plenary session of the 339th extraordinary session of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, Mayor Oh answered a question from People Power Party city council member Cha In-young regarding the supply of dwellings in Yongsan Park.
Mayor Oh emphasized that the principle of creating Yongsan Park is a social consensus carried over from past administrations. He said, "At the time of the Roh Moo-hyun administration, I did not attend the Yongsan Park proclamation ceremony in protest," adding, "I made it clear that unless it is guaranteed that the Yongsan Park main body will not be touched under any circumstances, I cannot agree to the master plan as mayor of Seoul."
He also drew a line against the perception that the conflict between the government and the Seoul Metropolitan Government appears to be a political confrontation. Regarding his opposition to supplying dwellings in Yongsan Park, Mayor Oh said it is "not appropriate to assess it as if a confrontational stance is being taken due to political interests."
He also pointed out that it would be difficult to supply dwellings in a short period even if Yongsan Park were used. This is because the current Special Act on the Creation of Yongsan Park restricts the use of the main site, and the U.S. military base transfer schedule, soil precision surveys, and permitting procedures must be completed.
Mayor Oh said, "The point at which the U.S. military fully completes the transfer has not been set, and considering the soil precision surveys and various procedures, it would be difficult to break ground within the current government's term," adding, "That is why, premised on supplying dwellings 10 years from now, we were able to present the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center site as an alternative."
The Seoul Metropolitan Government recently proposed to the government a tentatively named "Southeastern Youth Specialized Industrial Complex" using the area around the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center as an alternative for the supply of dwellings.
On the scale of dwellings in the Yongsan International Business District, he left open the possibility of consultations with the government. Mayor Oh said, "What was originally agreed at 6,000 households can be increased to 8,000 households with the city of Seoul yielding," adding, "However, the premise is that school land must be provided."
He went on to say about the government's plan to supply 10,000 households, "It is important to increase the supply volume, but it is also important to push the project forward quickly," adding, "The Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport also shares the view that speed is an important value, so I see a possibility for a compromise plan."
He expressed strong concern over a plan, discussed by the government and the ruling party, to transfer to autonomous districts the permitting authority for small-scale redevelopment projects. Regarding the claim that the city of Seoul is delaying reviews of redevelopment projects and creating a supply bottleneck, Mayor Oh said it is "a claim that grossly ignores reality."
He said, "Over the past four to five years, we have integrated review procedures, and now the urban planning review and integrated review are completed in one to three months," adding, "The claim that bottlenecks are occurring because of the city of Seoul's review is out of touch with reality."
He continued, "Autonomous districts do not have sufficient dedicated personnel to handle redevelopment projects, and there are no unified standards by district," adding, "It is a claim that does not sufficiently consider the confusion and conflicts that could arise if authority is transferred."