The long-stalled plan to transfer the U.S. Embassy in Korea to Yongsan has begun moving again, as the U.S. government initiated the permitting process to demolish existing buildings at the planned transfer site. The Seoul city government decided to keep the district unit plan, which was set to lapse in November, recognizing the start of demolition work as the start of the project.
According to the Seoul city government and Yongsan District on the 14th, the application submitted by the U.S. government for a demolition permit for buildings at the planned U.S. Embassy transfer site in 1-gan, Yongsan-dong, Yongsan District, received conditional approval in last month's review.
A Yongsan District official said, "We have not yet received the notice of commencement for demolition, but the U.S. government has conveyed that it will submit it soon," and added, "After the notice, demolition of the existing buildings and soil remediation work will proceed."
To demolish a building, one must obtain a demolition permit from the relevant local government and then file a commencement notice. After completing the demolition of existing buildings, the U.S. government is expected to obtain a new construction permit and begin building the embassy compound.
The planned transfer site is the former Camp Coiner site around lots 1-5, 1-gan, Yongsan-dong, Yongsan District. It is north of Yongsan Garrison and near Sookmyung Women's University Station on Subway Line 4. When visited on the 11th, the site was enclosed by walls. The residential and office facilities on the site have not been used for eight years since they were closed in 2018 to prepare for the embassy transfer.
Talks on transferring the U.S. Embassy to Yongsan gained momentum in 2011 when the Seoul city government and the U.S. government signed a memorandum of understanding for constructing and transferring the compound. In 2021, the Seoul city government changed the land use of the transfer site from green area to type 2 general residential area and prepared a district unit plan applying a maximum floor area ratio of 200%, a height of 55 meters, and up to 12 stories.
The land is owned by the U.S. government. Initially, the U.S. government planned to develop a 48,000-square-meter embassy compound site and a 30,000-square-meter staff housing site together. It later decided to return the planned staff housing site to the Korean government and, instead, receive 150 units for use as housing when the Yongsan District Asia Holdings Apartments are completed. The returned staff housing site is expected to be incorporated into Yongsan Park.
The new embassy building was originally scheduled to break ground in 2023, but the timeline was delayed due to the U.S. government's budget circumstances. As a result, there were concerns that the district unit plan might lose effect.
On Nov. 4, 2021, the Seoul city government decided and announced the district unit plan for the U.S. Embassy transfer site. A district unit plan loses effect if a permit is not obtained and a project or construction does not commence within five years from the date of decision and announcement. If the U.S. government did not start the project by November, it could have had to go through the existing urban planning procedures again.
A Seoul city official said, "In June and July, we informed the U.S. Embassy twice that the expiration deadline for the district unit plan was approaching," and added, "After the U.S. government applied to Yongsan District for a demolition permit, we decided to recognize the start of demolition work as the start of the project and ultimately decided not to let the district unit plan lapse."
Once the U.S. Embassy transfers to Yongsan, discussions on how to use the existing compound site next to Gwanghwamun Square are also expected to pick up. The existing site, owned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is 9,866 square meters. The Seoul city government plans to review ways to use the site as a pedestrian and rest area linked to Gwanghwamun Square as soon as the embassy transfer is completed.